Wednesday November 14th, 11 - 12pm
Join the Hon John McKay, MP for Scarborough-Guildwood for a special tree planting ceremony of Vimy Oaks that will serve as a living Memorial to Canada's fallen in Scarborough's beautiful
Guild Park & Gardens.
Story of the Vimy Oaks
After the Battle of Vimy Ridge was won, many soldiers realized that they had been part of something truly great. Leslie Miller, born in 1889 in Milliken, ON, looked around for a souvenir on the Ridge. It was completely devoid of structures or vegetation due to shell fire but he did find a half buried oak tree. He gathered up a handful of acorns.
Those acorns were subsequently planted by him on farmland in Scarborough, ON, which is now home to the Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church. He called his farm the ‘Vimy Oaks Farm’. Today, several of the original oaks survive. However, there are no original oaks on the Vimy Ridge site.
In January 2015, the process began with professional arborists taking cuttings (scions) from the crowns of the oaks which will be grafted onto base root stock – quercus robur. The saplings have been grown at Connon NVK nurseries using an accelerated method and are now available for private planting in Canada to commemorate the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Donations will be used to support the creation of the Vimy Foundation Centennial Park in France as well as ongoing education programs.
The planting of a Vimy Oak is a special way for schools, libraries, and other community organizations to mark the end of the First World War centennial period. These special trees, brought back as acorns from Vimy Ridge to grow in Canada, are an opportunity for groups to acknowledge the impact that the First World War had on their community, and to gather together in a ceremony when the tree is planted in the ground.
R.S.V.P jmckay@johnmckaymp.on.ca would like to attend the tree planting ceremony.
