UPDATE: (June 21st 2015)
Guildwood Junior's Elm Tree has earned a spot as one of the 10 finalists in the "Survivor" catagory of LEAF's Great Toronto Tree Hunt out of the 83 trees entered in the catagory. Thanks to everyone who voted for Guildwood Juniors Elm! It's all up to the LEAF Judges now!
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Guildwood is home to some magnificent trees, unfortunately many of them have been lost due to the Emerald Ash Borer and weather events in the past few years. That being said we still have a lot of great trees in our community that are worth celebrating. One of these trees is the Elm Tree in the yard of Guildwood Junior Public School, this tree is a survivor, it has survived while other trees on the property were removed due to EAB and it survived the 2013 Ice Storm. One community member Rosalee Spohn wrote to us about the tree. She has nominated it for the Great Toronto Tree Hunt organized by LEAF.
Guildwood Junior’s Elm has been nominated by Rosalee for the category of “Survivor”. “For decades, the students at Guildwood Junior Public School in Scarborough have enjoyed playing in a well-shaded school yard that boasted dozens of mature trees. They played around, under, and in the case of trees with multiple stems, in these trees. Over the years, trees have fallen down or been chopped down due to old age, disease, or storm damage. During the current academic year, more than 30 ash trees were cut down because they had fallen victim to the Emerald Ash Borer. Now, all that remains in the school yard where the students play is a single mature tree – an elm. This elm is a reminder of the dozens of tall trees the school once had; however, as a survivor, it is also a sign of hope for the future, that once more, the students will have a well-shaded area in which to play. The elm stands proudly at the edge of one of the school’s Nature Study Areas. This is a space where students have planted a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. This is an area where the students will be able to study nature.” This is how the tree is described in the “Brief Story” section of the contest page. The first round of the contest is determined by public votes so the tree needs your vote, to vote for Guildwood Junior’s Elm visit www.yourleaf.org/nominate-tree, go to “View Entries and Vote” and under “Vote” serch for “Guildwood.” Update (June 8th 2015): You can vote 20 times per household. So be sure to use all 20 votes!
Two other residents of Guildwood have also nominated their trees for the contest under the “Beauty” category so check those out as well! You can vote for as many trees as you want.
Do you have a great tree? We would love to see it! Tweet us @TheGuildwoodian, find us on Facebook or email us!
UPDATE: (June 10th 2015) With just under 5 days of voting to go, Guildwood Junior's Elm is in first place in the "Survivor" catagory and second place over all! Lets keep those votes coming in!