South Nation Conservation (SNC) donated 1,100 tree seedlings to hospital nurses for National Nurses Week (May 10th to May 16th) as the Pandemic continues through its second year.

Frontline healthcare staff at the Glengarry Memorial Hospital, Winchester District Memorial Hospital, and the Cornwall Community Hospital received special thank you gifts of free trees from SNC during the Authority’s busy spring tree planting season.

Donated Norway Spruce seedlings were sourced locally from the Ferguson Forest Centre in Kemptville and were purchased by SNC through funds raised from 2020 fundraising campaigns and with support from the Cornwall Community Hospital Foundation.

“We want to show our appreciation and support for the frontline healthcare workers in our communities who have been working tirelessly throughout this Pandemic,” said John Mesman, SNC’s Communications Lead. “Trees are resilient, like us. And we hope that newly planted trees will inspire others and provide some hope for the future.”

In 2021, SNC set an ambitious goal of helping to plant more than 200,000 trees within its watershed jurisdiction in Eastern Ontario. This year, the Authority is set to plant over 230,000 trees this spring, breaking a previous record set in 1993 and an increase over the average spring tree count of approximately 150,000 trees.

In the face of tragedy, trees can become a symbol of resilience, perseverance, and hope.

Trees have lived on this planet for hundreds of millions of years and have always found ways to adapt and thrive in evolving environments.

“When trees come back from the brink of destruction, it inspires us and reminds us that life goes on and that we can find a way to heal and grow,” added Mesman.

Trees donated to frontline healthcare workers serve as a simple gesture of kindness and a sign of hope for the future once planted.

SNC is a not-for-profit and community-based environmental agency that relies on donations and self-generated revenue to protect and enhance the local environment across its 4,441 square-kilometer jurisdiction.

People can learn more or donate to SNC online at www.nation.on.ca/donate.