300-year-old Elm tree to be cut down in Kitchener

A tree standing in Kitchener’s south end that officials say is more than 300 years old is being cut down over safety concerns.

On Wednesday, arborists met at the heritage tree beside St. Jude’s School and Scholars' Hall. The tree has significant importance for the adjacent school.

“We’ve had students who have been very sad, we’ve had parents who have been stopping and saying ‘it’s a sad day,’” said Fred Gore, director at St. Jude’s School and Scholars' Hall. “The tree has sheltered our students since we built. They played under it, they tobogganed under it. It’s a big friend to them. They’re going to miss it for sure.”

Gore said in 2000 the University of Guelph did a tree coring and determined it was 307 years old that year.

Workers take down a centuries-old Elm tree in Kitchener. (Tyler Kelaher/CTV News Kitchener)

The tree is part of the school’s crest and has been a part of Scholars’ Hall for 22 years ago.

Officials with the school said in June of last year, the 60-foot tall Elm tree was in full leaf, and only three weeks later, all of the leaves had fallen off.

Unfortunately, the tree had succumbed to Dutch elm disease, which prevents water and nutrients from circulating through it.

The school said the tree was once identified as the largest and healthiest Elm tree in the province.

The Elm tree is being taken down in Kitchener due to disease. (Tyler Kelaher/CTV News Kitchener)

Now that it’s dead, the school and city feared a tree so tall would be a safety hazard, and decided it had to be trimmed down.

The city will cut off the limbs of the tree and leave about two storeys of the trunk intact.

Pieces of the tree will also be recovered and recycled by the school. Some students have asked for a piece as a keepsake.

The school also plans to carve what’s left of the trunk as a historical monument.