The story of these six trees began on November 11, 1919 -- the first Remembrance Day following the end of World War 1. As a commemorative gesture for 12 soldiers from the Lambton Park community who lost their lives in the war, six trees -- two silver maples and four Norway maples -- were planted in front of Lambton Park Public School (re-named Lambton Park Community School in 1991).
The trees in front of Lambton Park Community School
A silver plated shovel was made for the ceremony and the Royal Princes of England -- Edward and Albert -- were invited to plant these trees using this shovel in front of the school, but they were unable to make it on the day of planting. It was then decided the mothers of the fallen soldiers would plant the trees on behalf of their sons, in place of the princes.
Irene (Gage) Moyle
Two of these soldiers, Reginald Gage and Sydney Moyle, were uncles to a young girl named Bonita (Moyle) Nelson whose family belonged to the Bernice Crescent community in Lambton Park. Reginald was Bonita’s mother’s brother and Sydney was Bonita’s father’s brother. Bonita’s grandmother, Emily Gage, was set to help plant the trees on behalf of her son Reginald, but was sick on the day of planting. Instead, Bonita’s mother, Irene Gage, helped with the planting. Following the planting ceremony, the silver plated shovel was placed on display in a glass case inside the school, along with a plaque commemorating those 12 fallen soldiers for whom the trees were planted.
This plaque at the school honours the 12 fallen soldiers for whom the trees were planted
Years later, Bonita submitted the story of these First Remembrance Day Trees into LEAF’s Great Toronto Tree Hunt and won the Heritage Potential category. From there, she decided to nominate the trees through Forests Ontario’s Heritage Tree Program -- a program that identifies and records the location of unique and diverse heritage trees across the province by assessing their age, size, appearance and cultural and historical significance.
I had the pleasure of working on the nomination with Bonita this past year , and on September 24, 2016, all of Bonita’s hard work paid off. The six trees became recognized as heritage trees for their strong historical and cultural ties within the Lambton Park community and our whole country.
Bonita with heritage tree recognition plaque.
Many people came out to celebrate Bonita’s hard work in obtaining heritage status for the First Remembrance Day trees including Lambton Park Community School alumni and staff, the Toronto District School Board trustee, LEAF staff, the City councillor and local Member of Parliament, local Legion members, City of Toronto forestry staff and representatives from Forests Ontario. Bonita spoke about her history in the Lambton Park community and her deep rooted connections to the trees. She also noted that she will no longer have to contact the school every year on Remembrance Day to tell them how important these trees are because they’ve finally got the recognition they deserve!
Celebrating the heritage recognition with Bonita.
With heritage recognition through Forests Ontario, these six trees will now receive special protection from the City of Toronto. Under the Private Tree Bylaw, City staff cannot issue a permit to injure or destroy a heritage tree without approval by Community Council, unless they present an imminent danger.
Anyone interested in nominating a tree for heritage recognition can learn more through Forests Ontario.
Brenna Anstett is LEAF’s Field Operations Coordinator.
Photographs by Brenna Anstett, Bonita Nelson and Anita Nelson.
LEAF’s Great Toronto Tree Hunt, was supported by TD Friends of the Environment, Ontario Power Generation and City of Toronto.