260-year-old tree receives heritage designation

By the Dunnville Horticultural Society

This fall, you will see additional projects completed by the Dunnville Horticultural Society (DHS) as we continue our legacy of service. The Floral Clock will receive a much needed overhaul, being repurposed as a legacy monument with a storyboard telling its history. Phase 2 of the Thompson Creek Eco Centre project is due to open on September 25, 2019. And the mighty White Oak in the Thompson Creek tall grass prairie, at approximately 260 years old, has been designated a Heritage Tree.

Having a tree designated as a Heritage Tree is no small feat. It must meet strict guidelines for its health and future viability. An application is made that outlines its exact GPS positioning, measurements are taken to determine its age, and a write up is required outlining its importance and history in the community. In the case of our White Oak, it was determined that it had germinated prior to Confederation. It has borne witness to the War of 1812 and the two world wars. It has seen the advancement of transportation from horse and buggy to space travel, of media from hand-written letter to email. It has survived in its rooted location, first as a tree in the midst of a tall grass prairie, then in the middle of agricultural farmland, and then again in a tall grass prairie as it stands today.