RBC Blue Water Garden to be Donated to London Wildlife Trust as The Wildlife Trust Movement Marks its Centenary
London, May 21 2012 - Royal Bank of Canada today announced that the RBC Blue
Water Garden, featuring at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show (May 22-26), will be
donated to London Wildlife Trust's Natural Estates project following the event.
London Wildlife Trust is one of 47 Wildlife Trusts across the country, and this donation
comes as The Wildlife Trust movement marks 100 years of preserving natural spaces
across the UK. Established in 1912, The Wildlife Trust was originally founded as the
Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves by Charles Rothschild. Its London arm is a
charity dedicated solely to protecting the capital's wildlife and wild spaces,
engaging London's diverse communities through access to our nature reserves,
volunteering and outdoor learning.
Following the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the RBC Blue Water Garden will be moved to
the Thamesmead Estate in Greenwich, South-East London, where it will become a
community garden as part of the London Wildlife Trust's Natural Estates project. The
programme aims to create bio-diverse and community-friendly green spaces in nine
social housing estates around London. Many of the major features and plants will be
retained following the rebuild, which will be carried out by London Wildlife Trust staff,
community volunteers and local school children, supported by professionals.
The RBC Blue Water Garden, which has been designed by Nigel Dunnett and the
Landscape Agency, brings the water cycle to life by becoming the first RHS Chelsea
Flower Show garden to incorporate bioswales as a central feature. Instead of excess
rainwater being sent straight to the drains and through invisible buried pipes, these linear
structures channel the runoff, allowing it to circulate through the garden visibly. The
garden is supported by the RBC Blue Water Project, a wide-ranging, 10-year global
commitment to help protect the world's fresh water resources.
Alan Rick, Chair of London Wildlife Trust, commented: "We applaud the Royal Bank of
Canada for donating the RBC Blue Water Garden to the Thamesmead Estate. This gift
will dramatically improve the shared green spaces of local tenants and will provide an
exciting and wild space for local residents to enjoy. It will also offer great opportunities
for our Natural Estates project to launch a series of wildlife activities for local residents to
teach them new skills, improve social cohesion and increase their access to nature."
Harry Samuel, CEO, Europe at RBC Capital Markets, added: "We're delighted to be
giving this truly unique garden structure to London Wildlife Trust and preserving the
message of sustainable water management. I am also very keen to see how schools
and local community groups get involved in the relocation process and in making the
garden an integral part of community life."
Mike Moodie, Head of RBC Wealth Management's UK business, said: "I am impressed
with the enthusiasm and dedication with which Nigel and his design team have
championed the idea of artful water management. It is an important message that
resonates well with the objectives of the Wildlife Trust as well as the RBC Blue Water
Project, and this donation presents the perfect opportunity to promote sustainable
garden design that will be enjoyed by London residents for years to come."
The rebuild will begin in July this year, and will be open to the public late summer.
Media Enquiries
Paul French +44 (0) 207 002 2013 paul.french@rbc.com
Timi Oni +44 (0) 207 653 4516 timi.oni@rbc.com
About the Natural Estates Project
The Natural Estates project is a partnership between London Wildlife Trust, Groundwork London
and eight Social Landlords, funded through Big Lottery Access to Nature with the active
involvement of Natural England.
Based on nine estates around London, three community outreach officers are working to involve
the 13,000 residents in enhancing and maintaining their common green spaces, improving their
physical and emotional health, social cohesion and promoting active citizenship. Each estate has
a program of activity-based interventions that aims to enhance the green space by increasing its
wildlife and biodiversity and contribute to improving the green infrastructure of London.
About Nigel Dunnett and the Landscape Agency
Dr. Nigel Dunnett is Professor of Planting Design, and Director of the Green Roof Centre,
University of Sheffield. He is one of the UK´s foremost planting designers, and exponent of
sustainable landscape and garden design, and originated the concept of `Pictorial Meadows´. He
has won RHS Silver-Gilt Medals at Chelsea in 2009 and 2011. The Landscape Agency is one of
the leading landscape design and landscape masterplanning consultancies in Britain.
About the RBC Blue Water Project
The RBC Blue Water Project is an innovative, wide-ranging, 10-year global commitment to help
protect the world's most precious natural resource: fresh water. It includes a C$50 million
philanthropic commitment to organizations that protect watersheds and ensure access to clean
drinking water. The RBC Blue Water Project also promotes responsible water use through
awareness programs and supports programs that encourage businesses to develop and
commercialize innovative solutions to the water issues facing the world. Since 2007, RBC has
pledged over C$33 million to more than 450 not-for-profit organizations worldwide that protect
watersheds or ensure access to clean drinking water. For further information, please visit
http://bluewater.rbc.com/.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate under the master
brand name RBC. We are one of Canada's largest banks as measured by assets and market
capitalization, and are among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We
are one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal
and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment
banking and transaction processing services on a global basis. We employ approximately 74,000
full- and part-time employees who serve close to 15 million personal, business, public sector and
institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 56 other countries. For more
information, please visit rbc.com.
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