At 1201 Fort Street, once known as the Truth Centre, a development of luxury condos and townhouses with underground parking will “remove” 29 trees. Ten of these trees are Bylaw Protected. Here are a few photos of this diverse, mature and lovely forest.

One is an English Oak. These trees were once numerous on the property, the home of the first Attorney General Henry Crease, and it is said that they “were grown from acorns sent by the English jurist Torrens, who gathered them under the Tree of Liberty in the garden of William Pitt the Younger (“Under that tree, William Wilberforce the English emancipator pledged to work to free slaves all over the world” ).”

Another protected tree is the Scotts Pine. In the background is a heritage house made of wood, also protected. But these two have different Bylaw protection. The house can not be taken down because of it’s Heritage designation, but the protected tree can be removed with a permit for $30.

Another view is of two giant sequoias, the English Oak in the centre foreground, and Garry Oak, centre back. These trees will be cut down. To the Rt. is a second Garry Oak with critical root zones at risk.

The Incense Cedar grows on Pentrelew and has the largest diameter of all the trees. It pushed away a retaining wall at the sidewalk but it’s strength cannot match what is to come.

The two sequoias and a Copper Beech tucked between them are beautiful in all seasons. Beech leaves are pink in the spring and wine coloured in fall. The Sequoias were grown from seeds brought form the Sierra Nevada mountains in the 1860″s. Living up to 3,000 yrs., this species was named in honour of an Indigenous Lakota man who translated the sounds of English speech into a Cherokee written language.

At the gate stands a Garry Oak nestled beside a Pine. It is part of a remnant Garry Oak meadow along the Fort St. corridor. There are eight on the property. Four have critical root zones at risk from construction. Blasting at 1201 begins in February.