On Oct. 19, seven Centre Wellington Parks grew healthier and greener with the addition of 15 celebration trees.
The sixth annual tree dedication made stops in Salem at Veterans Park; in Elora at Hoffer Park, Bissell Park, Drimmie Park and Victoria Park; and in Fergus at Millburn Park and Pattison Park. At each park, recipients, donors, family members and friends came out to honour and celebrate the honouree and do the ceremonial mulching and watering of their tree. Each tree was accompanied with an engraved plaque.
This year’s planting event celebrated lives lived, a 60th birthday, a fifth wedding anniversary and a thoughtful donation.
The dedication day was like a travelling tree show, with the first stop at Veterans Park in Salem where an Eastern Redbud now stands by the cenotaph, over-looking the river for a life lived.
Elora parks were next; a Red Oak now stands in Hoffer Park facing the home where the honouree once lived.
They next moved on to Bissell Park where three trees were dedicated by the boardwalk; a picturesque setting for a Basswood-Linden, for a life lived, a Tulip Tree, for a live lived and a Red Oak, for a wedding anniversary, all to provide shade and beauty for the visitors in the park.
Drimmie Park in Elora was the next spot for another celebration tree where a White Oak was dedicated in memory of a brother and son. There is now seven celebration trees in the park. In Elora’s Victoria Park, a Burr Oak was dedicated in celebration of a 60th birthday.
Millburn Park, home of the new splash pad, is now even greener with an additional seven trees added to the six that were dedicated last year. An Autumn Blaze and a Sugar Maple were donated along with a Red Maple, a White Spruce, two Sugar Maples and a Red Oak to honour and celebrate lives lived.
Lastly, at Pattison Park, a Ginkgo found its fourth and final resting spot to grow and provide dappled shade. A grandson of the original owner decided that a park would be the best home for this tree, knowing that another move for the tree might be its demise. So the tree now proudly stands beside the plaque bearing the original owner’s name.
Celebration trees is a joint partnership with the Elora Environment Centre, NeighbourWoods on the Grand and the Township of Centre Wellington Parks and Recreation Department. With this year’s planting, sixty-two celebration trees now grace seven community parks.
Celebrations trees are planted each fall and are a meaningful way to commemorate an occasion, celebrate a life or honour a special person.
Deadline for requests is August. For more information, please go to www.ecee.on.ca or call the NeighbourWoods on the Grand office at 519-846-0841.
