Tree of remembrance

The province’s landscaping industry is taking advantage of favourable autumn weather to pay homage to Canada’s veterans.

In Sydney, a young sugar maple tree was planted near the Royal Canadian Legion’s cenotaph at Ashby Corner, where Welton and Prince streets intersect with Victoria Road and Whitney Avenue.

The tree was planted by employees of Highland Landscapes for Lifestyle, a Howie Centrebased, family-operated landscaping firm.

That project is part of a provincewide initiative mounted by Landscape Nova Scotia, an umbrella organization representing landscaping and horticultural businesses across the province.

For Highland’s Christene Stenhouse LeVatte, the opportunity to honour Canada’s veterans just couldn’t be passed up.

“We were honoured to be able to participate in the ‘LNS Remembers’ program and we look forward to caring for this maple sugar tree and watching it grow,” she said.

Sean Kirby, executive-director of Landscape Nova Scotia, said his organization represents mostly small business across the province that wanted to say a collective thank you to veterans prior to Remembrance Day.

“What better way to give back than to help the veterans who have given so much for the rest of us — so, we did it by making landscaping donations around the province,” he said.

Along with the Ashby Corner maple tree, Kirby said the group’s initiatives also include the repair of 52 footstones of deceased veterans that were sinking at the Elm Grove Cemetery near Kentville and a cleanup of the Fairview Legion’s landscaping prior to a flag ceremony in September.

Tom Young, president of the legion’s Ashby branch 138, called the tree a nice gesture.

“As the years go by and the tree starts to mature, it will always be something to know that it was done for us, in this case by Highland Landscaping,” said Young, whose legion is partnering with Sydney branch 12 and the Whitney Pier branch 128 in presenting Nov. 11’s Remembrance Day ceremony at Centre 200 in Sydney.

“It’s a really nice way to remember veterans and to carry on the legacy of those who led the way for us.”

Some 20 private companies across Nova Scotia are contributing to the LNS Remembers projects. Young

SUBMITTED PHOTO/CHRISTENE STENHOUSE LEVATTE Michael Whiffen, left, and Chance MacLeod, employees of Highland Landscapes, show off a sugar maple tree they planted near the cenotaph on the former grounds of Constantine school on Ashby Corner in Sydney. The tree was planted in honour of local...