A special ceremony in Trenton celebrated the planting of 175 maple trees in Bain Park as part of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign.
Mark Cullen, chair of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign, said it was great to be back in Trenton for this very, very special occasion.
A plaque remains hidden in front of the 175 sugar maples planted in Bain Park in Trenton as part of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign. (Photo: Amanda Smith/Quinte News)
Six years ago, the very first sugar maple was planted at CFB Trenton and another was planted at the coroner’s office in Toronto, a span of 170 kilometres.
“And that was the beginning of our $10 million campaign to plant 117,000 trees on the Highway of Heroes, one tree for every Canadian lost at war, since the War of 1812.”
He said then they decided to honour the 1.8 million Canadians who volunteered for military service during times of war with another 1.8 million trees, including 40,000 who volunteered during the Afghan War.
Cullen noted there have been 1.6 million trees planted as part of their living tribute and their two millionth tree is on track to be planted during Remembrance Week next year.
He also expressed his thanks to the many Canadians and businesses that supported the $10 million campaign, which is now fully funded.
Col. Ryan Deming, Commander of 8 Wing Trenton, says Cullen has turned the busiest highway in Canada into the biggest living tribute and the trees planted in Bain Park are truly symbolic of the sacrifices made by the soldiers, airmen and sailors who are no longer with us. “These trees serve to represent how they remain members of our community.”
“The Highway of Heroes campaign honours our fallen soldiers, we’ve heard that many times today. In memory of our fallen, we have chosen a fitting and living memorial recognizing the service and sacrifice Canadian Armed Forces members who served our country.”
“It’s just an amazing, amazing tribute, you know. We lined the fences here at CFB Trenton for those repatriation ceremonies, we lined the overpasses. It was quite an incredible thing to see the Highway of Heroes become a reality, of course an ominous time in our country’s history, but boy, our community really made something special out of the sacrifices that were made on our behalf.”
The City of Quinte West contributed $100,000 towards the Highway of Heroes initiative, an amount Mayor Jim Harrison says he doesn’t think any other city pledged to this campaign.
“Why did we pledge that much? Because we are a proud military city. There are very few cities in the province of Ontario that can boast an air show every day.”
Gerry Quick of St. George’s Anglican Church says the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign accomplished three things, including celebrating the church’s 175th anniversary.
“We were looking for ideas to mark our anniversary, and I put forward the idea of planting 175 trees somewhere in Trenton. Trees are the lungs of our planet and the more we plant, the cleaner the air will become. It turned out to be a win, win, win situation because the result is threefold. We have a beautiful long lasting tribute to our Canadian Armed Forces who paid the ultimate price, that allowed us a way to celebrate St. George’s 175th anniversary and it acted as a catalyst to raise money to donate back to the Highway of Heroes campaign.”
Quick presented Cullen with a cheque for $9,500 for the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign.
Gerry Quick from St. George’s Anglican Church in Trenton presents Mark Cullen with a cheque for $9,500. (Photo: Amanda Smith/Quinte News)
Cullen says the next chapter wouldn’t have been possible without the success of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign.
“Trees for Life, the next phase in our journey, will allow us to take our vision nation-wide, not just along the 170 kilometre stretch of the Highway of Heroes. Through Trees for Life, we’ll continue to plant trees where Canadians live, work, play and are educated.”
Two plaques are now in place in Bain Park detailing the story behind the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign.
A plaque detailing the story behind the 175 sugar maple trees planted in Bain Park as part of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign was unveiled on November 4, 2021. (Photo: Amanda Smith/Quinte News)
