Heritage Tree

The Heritage Tree Program was launched in 2009 by Forests Ontario (then Trees Ontario) in partnership with the Ontario Urban Forest Council (OUFC). The program allows anyone across Ontario to nominate a tree for recognition based on its social or cultural history or its special community significance. A number of criteria may qualify a tree as a Heritage Tree, including its distinct size, form, age, rarity, or its connection with historic individuals, events, or locations.

Weekends in the summer are a time to unwind, relax and get outside. Whether you are camping, cottaging or simply enjoying the great outdoors, here in Ontario we’re lucky enough to have access to a whole lot of green!

Known as the Champlain Oaks, these 4 mature, healthy bur oak are remnants of an old-growth forest, and direct descendants of the oak forest noted by Captain Pierre Chevalier de Troyes in his 1686 journal. The forest in which this trees were originally found had great importance to First Nations, who called it “the place where the oaks grow”, and would have been seen by Samuel de Champlain during his travels up the Ottawa River.

The Nicholas Family’s red oak is probably one of the largest of its species in Ontario, if not Canada. Part of an ancient oak savannah, this red oak tree is an indigenous species of the Humber River Watershed.

This Eastern White Pine is nearly 300 years old and is located in an old-growth forest dominated by white and black spruce and tamarack. This White Pine is one among the few found in the area. This historic area was once owned by one of Ontario’s most famous lumber barons, John Rudohphis (J.R.) Booth. Booth was the renowned Canadian lumber king and built the Canada Atlantic Railway. Near this tree he owned a sawmill that was part of the largest lumber operation of its kind in the world, that eventually burned down in a forest fire. At the time, the large old pines located on this site were deemed the most prized species to harvest, used often as the masts for large ships.

In 1890, William Lea, a member of the founding family for which Leaside is named, designated a half-acre of his land to erect Leaside Mission. Decades later, St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church replaced the small wooden structure. As the only public building in the area, St. Cuthbert’s became the first “City Hall” of the newly incorporated Town of Leaside in 1913.

This Sugar Maple signifies the location for trading grounds between early European settlers and the Chippewa, a local first nation’s clan. Arborists estimate that the tree is well over 200 years old. The “Trading Tree”, as locals called it, was used as a trading ground in order for the Chippewa to exchange their woven baskets and fish for the settler’s butter and eggs. This Sugar Maple symbolizes the success resulting from the collaboration between pioneers and the Chippewa in the early settling days.

This Sycamore tree has been a member of the community since pre-confederation. It has withstood the war of 1812, mass urbanization, and highly present disease. Despite these factors the 225 year old Sycamore on the Roseland Subdivision stands to this day and dominates the landscape of the community, attracting attention from every direction.

This English oak tree is historically and socially significant to Leith since its planting in 1905 by a group of youngsters attending Sunday School at Leith Church. The tree sits feet away from the front door of Leith Church, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2015. It also sits only feet away from Tom Thomson’s tombstone, an iconic Canadian painter and member of the Group of Seven. Every year many pilgrims walk under the Oaks canopy to lay paintbrushes, rings, and coins to pay respect to the painter.

This Jesuit Pear Tree is a descendant of trees brought from France by the Jesuit Missionaries in the early 18th century. These trees marked the location of early French settlements within Canada. Although historically common to the region, Jesuit Pear Trees are becoming rare. Since 2001, this species has been recognized as the symbol of the Detroit Region`s French-speaking community, which is now focused around the region of Windsor. This tree is located at the North-West corner of the Maison Francois Baby House.