
Thanks to Tree Trust and the Echo Foundation for making the “Tree of the Year” initiative possible.
We are grateful for the donated draw prize from Magic Pebble Books, downtown Elora.


Centre Wellington
Hover over the image to pause the slideshow

Centre Wellington’s Tree of the Year winner is the beautiful Black Walnut in Fergus.
Black Walnut
249 Garafraxa St E
Fergus
Approximately 120-130 years old
DBH: 95.5 cm
Height: 21 m
Canopy: 30 m
Carbon Stored: 5.3 ton
Storm Water Intercepted: 23,518 L
With over 4 nominations alone, the Black Walnut deserves to be recognized as Tree of the Year!
It truly is magnificent! The tree reaches from one side of the property right to the other side and it’s glorious all year round!
– Kelly Hall
Elora Fergus Today: Centre Wellington announces its tree of the year
Stratford-Perth
The winning Sugar Maple behind Stratford Intermediate School.
This fall Stratford Tree Trust and Tim’s Tree Care, along with the school’s Environmental Club, are working to repair one of our city’s most iconic trees – the old sugar maple tree behind the Stratford Intermediate School. Friday September 22 Tim’s Tree Care will extend the life of this “Tree of the Tear” with extensive root repair and safety signage/improvements.
Sugar Maple
60 St Andrew St
Stratford
Approximately 100-120 years old
DBH: 91 cm
Height: 23 m
Carbon Stored: 3.5 ton
Water Runoff Mitigated: 21,209 L

Toronto Island Community
Toronto Island Community 2023 Tree of the Year winner is the majestic Scots Pine.
Watch the interview by Prof. Pricklethorn with the winner!
Approximately 100 years old
DBH: 96 cm
Height: 27 m
Carbon Stored: 2.5 ton
Waterloo Region
Reep Green Solutions, in collaboration with Tree Trust and the Echo Foundation, is thrilled to announce that the 2023 Tree of the Year is Waterloo’s Bur Oak! Five legacy trees from various cities and townships competed for this title. The importance of these mature trees to community resilience cannot be overstated. You can continue to learn more about these impactful trees here.

“It’s got grandeur. . . .”
Sharon Woodley of the Uptown Tree Coalition is referring to a broadly-spreading, solitary oak next to the Albert Street parking lot at the Waterloo Public Library. The Coalition, which she and a few other Waterloo residents established in 2021 to champion the urban forest in the city core, has nominated it for Tree of the Year 2023. “We had to nominate it. Everyone in the neighbourhood loves it.” And Sharon should know, being an active community builder who moved into this neighbourhood more than 50 years ago… [read more]
Meaford
Meaford, ON, September 25, 2023…..One tree has stood out from among a half dozen trees that were nominated for the Meaford Tree Trust inaugural designation of Tree-of-the-Year, a lone super tall sycamore tree that towers over the monument to Beautiful Joe in Meaford’s Beautiful Joe Park.
The tree’s origin is a mystery. Its location this far north is surprising. The fact that it is thriving and that Tree Trust has chosen it as its Tree-of-the-Year is “auspicious”, according to Tree Trust arborist Tobias Efflinger. “Not only is it a grand tree but choosing this sycamore is timely,” he said. “Sycamores are Carolinian. The Carolinian trees are moving north, south, east and west – the change is not linear. The fact that we have a Carolinian species here suggests that we have good genetic soils and they will survive here.”
Tree Trust is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the biggest and best urban trees. The organization raises funds to hire arborists who keep the trees healthy and extend their lifespans through measures such as pruning, fertilizing and insect control.
Coordinator Pete Russell has come to recognize the special connection that many individuals have to particular trees. “When talking to people about big old trees, often their faces will light up as they tell me about a special tree that they love,” he says.
“Legacy trees are key players in the fight against climate change. They are the carbon sequestering giants in the battle against climate change. Grey County is blessed with an assortment of legacy trees, some less notable than others, some in more or less healthy condition, yet so many of which loom tall in the hearts of those who have a personal connection to them. Meaford Tree Trust set out in June to designate one such tree as the 2023 Tree-of-the-Year.
“The program was sponsored by Echo Foundation. We received six nominations, all of them certainly worthy, each with its own appeal. The nominations included a rare specimen of a sycamore tree, a spirited ‘laydown’ tree, a giant cottonwood tucked away on a side trail, a pine tree that conjured up a fantasy world, a statuesque willow, and a beech tree that glows in the late afternoon sun.
“Choosing one over the others was not an easy task.”

Read more about the nominated trees here.