A tree for every fallen Canadian soldier
The Living Tribute campaign will plant more than 117,000 along the Highway of Heroes
When is a tree more than a tree? When is its value more than the sum of its parts?
A tree stores carbon, produces oxygen, filters toxins out of rainwater and provides a nice place to throw a blanket for a picnic. The answer is that a tree is more than a tree when it is a living tribute. More precisely, when it is a living tribute to our war dead.
The newly created Highway of Heroes Living Tribute campaign endeavours to be just that: an ambitious plan to plant more than 117,000 trees on the Highway of Heroes, the stretch of Hwy. 401 between CFB Trenton and Etobicoke’s Keele St. interchange where the coroner’s office is located. This is the route that every repatriated soldier’s remains are taken after arriving here from abroad — most recently from Afghanistan. The Living Tribute is an acknowledgement of the ultimate sacrifice that more than 117,000 people have made during times of war since before Confederation.
How did this happen? The idea of acknowledging Canada’s fallen in this way is the result of a discussion that started right here, in my column in the Star, over three years ago. In the summer of 2012, I wrote an open letter requesting a ramped-up effort from the City of Toronto to plant more trees. The emerald ash borer was wreaking havoc on our ash population to the tune of an eight per cent decline of the tree canopy.
As well, a new study had just been published by Forests Ontario called “A Healthy Dose of Green,” which quantified once and for all the benefits to all human health of a healthy tree canopy.
Although I never heard from the city, I did get a great response from citizens and not-for-profit organizations dedicated to enhancing the tree canopy. In all, 13 groups met for two years and discussed the various ways in which we could work together to plant more trees in urban spaces.
The Living Tribute is born: Another of my Star columns, about the successful reforestation of a section of highway in London, Ont., created a stir: the 10-kilometre Veterans Memorial Parkway provided a perfect model for the Living Tribute Campaign along the Highway of Heroes.
The question was posed by Tony DiGiovanni, the executive director of Landscape Ontario: “If we can do it in London, why not along the Highway of Heroes?”
Everyone at Trees For Life (the coalition of not-for-profit tree planters) agreed that this idea gave us a focus: The opportunity to plant trees where they otherwise would not be planted, using funds that were not otherwise earmarked for this purpose. The result would be incremental growth in tree canopy in the 416 — and beyond — on property no one was about to plant.
Strategic partners: In time, we got an agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to access Hwy. 401for tree planting.
Forests Ontario, the government of Ontario’s partner in the 50 Million Tree Program, has joined us in this important collaboration.
“This is the perfect accompaniment to our planting programs,” says Rob Keen, CEO of Forests Ontario. “We look forward to planting trees in honour of so many deserving Canadians.”
For their part, Landscape Ontario has made a commitment to support the campaign with a cash donation, ongoing in-kind support for tree planting and fundraising from its 2,500 members.
“I really love to dream of possibilities,” says DiGiovanni, “and this is one dream that will give me great pleasure to see come to fruition.”
With support from CFB Trenton, where the Highway of Heroes begins, to Keele St. in Toronto, the vision of a newly forested stretch of asphalt that has stood for the sacrifice of many in the name of freedom is soon to come to life. On Friday, two official ceremonies will acknowledge the kickoff of the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute campaign. One ceremony will take place at CFB Trenton and another near the coroner’s office on Keele St. at the 401. Details of both events are at hohtribute.ca.
If you’d like to help create a living legacy on behalf of Canada’s fallen war heroes, I urge you to join us. We are looking for volunteers for a wide variety of jobs — and, of course, donations. More than $30 million will be needed to provide the trees and resources to get them in the ground. Maintaining them for five years after planting is an important part of the process.
With the formal plan for the highway portion of the campaign underway, we are now working on Step No. 2: the planting of more than two million trees on adjacent lands to the highway on private and public property. One tree for each person who has ever served in the Canadian Armed Forces.
The Highway of Heroes Living Tribute: the value of a tree has never been so great. Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author, broadcaster and garden editor of Reno & Decor magazine. Get his free monthly newsletter at markcullen.com. Watch him on CTV Canada AM every Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. Email him at groundskeeper@markcullen.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarkCullen4 and Facebook.