When an elm tree in Byron Linear Park was cut down in November 2019 to make way for LRT extension construction, residents were devastated. The elm was no ordinary tree: it was over a hundred years old, beautiful with branches that stretched and hung with layers of thick green leaves providing a large canopy to the surrounding community.
The tree was cut down along with dozens of others in Ottawa's West end as construction advanced on the line and the western part of Byron Linear Park was dug up in the excavation. But one community member found a way to preserve part of the tree, sections referred to as a 'cookie.'
Now, the pieces will be brought back to life for the community, with one set to be made into a coffee table for the Carlingwood branch of the Ottawa Public Library thanks to the efforts of logger and enterprising constituent Tom Marcantonio.
'I was really upset because the LRT has removed somewhere between 600 to 800 trees from our neighborhood,' Marcantonio said. 'The elm was probably the biggest.'
Marcantonio knew the very measurements of the elm tree: 33 inches at the base in diameter, and he counted about 133 rings upon it. When his friend told him it was being cut down, he decided to see what could be done to save the wood.
'I'm a logger and a woodworker myself so I have a deep appreciation and respect for all trees,' Marcantonio said. 'I went over and, you know, I talked to the loggers and said, 'Can you cut me a couple of those slices there?' And they did.'
Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh passed a motion at city council on April 8 to convert a second section of the fallen elm tree dubbed the 'Mother Elm' into a piece of furniture for shared community use.
'This tree, the elm tree, was beloved because it was one of the biggest trees,' Kavanagh said. 'This is a tree that was well-established and had been through a lot and had to be taken out. So it was a piece of history.'
Kavanagh said they approached the city's archives office to figure out what to do with the first piece and how to commemorate it in the community. Initially, Marcantonio and the community's idea was to integrate the piece directly into the LRT station being constructed in the area, New Orchard.
'But that was extremely complicated. It wasn't the right place. So, the archives actually came up with the idea of making it into a coffee table and putting it in the Carlingwood library,' Kavanagh said. 'So it's a public place, and people will be able to visit the library and see it.'
Last week's motion, however, was for the second piece of the elm as the first was fully covered by the archives office. 'The motion was to ensure we have the second one. We haven't really figured out exactly where we're going to put it,' Kavanagh said. 'Maybe we'll partner it with the other one. But it will be in a public place so that people can enjoy it.'
