Audio Transcription: Speech → Written Text
“I am a Sugar maple. For nearly 150 years, I have stood in the same place,
watching the world change around me.
I was here before there were busy roads and neighbourhoods. I remember the
whistle of the steam trains passing by me and the women wearing bonnets and
long skirts. I have seen many seasons and many years. I have been a witness to
the Indigenous communities who first cared for this land, generations of children
playing beneath my branches, families picking apples from the nearby orchards
each fall and the arrival of new homes, streets and people.
As time went on and I stood alone in the open, my branches began growing out
instead of reaching up into a crowded forest. My natural structure changed and
gave me wide, heavy branches. Over the years, my position in the open has left
me vulnerable to time and storms.
With generous work from caring arborists, I was given a second chance. I
received life-extending care that mimics my natural conditions. I have responded
well to the care and I am now stronger and healthier, and with the new trees
planted nearby, I am no longer standing alone. Because of the expert care I
received, I get to continue growing, watching and remembering the changing town around me.”
