Celebrity gardener pledges $100,000 to rescue tree
Mark Cullen’s donation to save 300-year-old red oak contingent on contribution from the city
Grassroots efforts to protect Toronto's giant ancient red oak are sprouting — some towering in their generosity, others smaller but no less focused on saving what could be the city's oldest tree. Mark Cullen, one of Canada's most famous gardeners, and his wife Mary have stepped forward with a pledge of $100,000 to help the city purchase the North York home and yard, including the tree estimated to be more than 300 years old, and turn it into a parkette. However, the gift is contingent on the city contributing half the funds to buy the property, valued by the owner’s realtor, who has suggested removing the tree, at about $800,000. Cullen says his gift can be a great start for the community raising the rest. “This is an opportunity for Torontonians to acknowledge through the preservation of its oldest tree that we have something very special here,” said Cullen, an Order of Canada recipient who, along with his son Ben, contributes a regular gardening column to the Star. “There’s two and a half million of us. If we all put a buck in the pot, we’d have more than enough to acquire property and care for the tree so it lives a long and happy life.” And stepping forward they are, including Sophia Maiolo, 6. When the Weston girl heard that the famous oak engulfing the home on Coral Gable Dr. could soon face the axe, she told her mother Maria they had to save the tree she loves. She began collecting money from her classmates April 22 and has raised $615. “I just want it to be a parkette there so I can visit with all my friends and family to see it,” Maiolo said. When asked what she would do there, she said: "I could hug the tree and kiss the tree.” “She has a mission,” said Sophia's mom Maria Maiolo. “She is in love with this tree.” A Go Fund Me page was set up by Liberal MPP candidate Deanna Sgro with the target of $750,000. So far, just more than $2,000 has been raised. Arborist Ken Lund has offered to care for the tree free of charge, as he did for about two decades until the house was sold to the current owner, confirmed his company, Four Seasons Tree Care.
The 24-metre-tall red oak towers over the street near Sheppard Ave. W. and Weston Rd. The city estimates it could be up to 350 years old, making it perhaps Toronto’s oldest and largest tree. If properly cared for, it could live for another couple hundred years.
Mayor John Tory described Cullen’s offer as “very generous” and is prepared to consider the use of city funds to protect the tree.
“I’m heartened by the fact that good people like the Cullen family are stepping forward to show there is community support for this endeavour,” Tory said, adding he hopes this donation will “stimulate additional donations.”
Council first requested the city accept donations to acquire the property in 2015.
Three years later, the city has yet to start a fundraising campaign, saying it still needs the property owner’s assistance. But the city is facing pressure from the community to act, ever since the owner’s real estate agent, Waleed Khaled Elsayed, approached neighbours in early April, asking them how much the tree is worth.
Elsayed told the Star at the time that if the city doesn’t purchase the land soon, the owner will chop down the tree. In response, Tory publicly requested the community launch a crowdfunding campaign to help gauge interest in the purchase.
If there is enough support, the city could look at using public funds alongside private donations to buy the land and Tory said he would approach a family with connections to the site for a private donation. The property owner and city are currently negotiating a price, said Elsayed on Wednesday.
Once details are confirmed with the property owner, the city will formally establish a fund with the Toronto Parks and Tree Foundation, said city spokesperson Jane Arbour.
The city has previously said it would not support a request to remove the tree. Fines for illegally removing a tree range from $500 to $100,000, plus a possible supplementary fine of $100,000, according to the Toronto municipal code.