The Trees Have Spoken is an environmental art intervention on behalf of the trees of Ontario Place. Hundreds of fallen autumn leaves from the West Island of Ontario Place were collected in late October, early November, cut into heart shapes and pressed in books before being sewn together with red and green cotton thread in sets of strings. The public statement of the trees ’Leaf me be’ was added to many of the leaves with a manual typewriter. Eleven strings in nine locations, each consisting of 30-45 leaves were installed on December 15, 2023 among the trees on the West Island of Ontario Place as an act of defiance. It is only by respecting nature that we begin to stop harming ourselves. Artist Staement by Martin Reis & Richelle Forsey We had a great tour from the acclaimed landscape architect, Walter Kehm. At least 75 people showed up at West Island to hear Walter speak about his personal experience at Ontario Place, his appreciation for the amazing habitat that has developed over the last 10 years, and he shared his knowledge about trees and plants that are flourishing there. We are very grateful to Walter for leading us around and through West Island. He spoke with elegance, authority and good humour. Thank you again, Walter!
And thanks also to all the people who joined the tour. It was, by all accounts, a huge success. Join us this Saturday at Ontario Place to follow the acclaimed landscape architect Walter Kehm as he leads a tour and speaks about the habitat at West Island. Wear warm clothes! Following the tour, you are invited to join the Rally for Ontario Place located at the black wall of Doom near the west drive-in entrance on Lakeshore Blvd. We are really excited about these events and encourage you to bring friends, neighbours, colleagues and family. See you there...this struggle to protect Ontario Place ain't over!
Scroll down for info on both events Before and after. The photo on the right was taken October, 2023 & the photo on the right was taken today 19 more trees along Lakeshore Boulevard West have been disappeared. We have been vigilant, keeping an eye open for any tree-cutting activity over the course of the last few days, so we were pretty surprised to discover this allée of handsome shade trees had been obliterated without us knowing about it. Our only conclusion is that this desecration was performed late at night to avoid public protest or news coverage.
We continue to ask the public to watch for any suspicious activity and to report their observations to us as soon as possible. At this stage, most of the parking lot foliage is gone, but we know there are still lots of trees on the mainland that are slated to be removed, including the trees on the embankment you can see in the photo on the right of the “before” picture above. As we near the end of December, we expect the rate of tree removal to accelerate, including East Island and very probably West Island as well. Don't give up the fight. Please continue to reach out to City and Provincial politicians and let them know how you feel. Write to newspapers and online media. Spread the word far and wide. In the days ahead, we hope to let you know of some protest activities you can participate in. Thanks as always for all your support. Save the Trees at OP! Our continuing assessment shows at least 184 trees have been decimated at Ontario Place. Will the government please explain how these mature, healthy trees are affecting their so-called infrastructure improvements for East Island and the Budweiser Stage? Maybe they forgot to tell the public that these trees need to go so they can prerpare the grounds for an underground parking garage and/or Science Centre. Hmmmmm......
Photo from arborist report compared to photo taken 12/10/2023. Note the red scars where trees once stood. After receiving the unsettling video of the decimation of a mature tree near the east parking lot yesterday, we came early this morning to evaluate the situation and, to our dismay, discovered at least 137 trees had been removed, which confirms our fear that tree-cutting has begun in earnest. The photograph above is one of many showing the loss of trees in various sections of the mainland parking lots.
We urge all advocates for Ontario Place to organize an immediate public demonstration to convey our outrage. We must act now. Stay tuned to these pages for updates. Note: We have adjusted the number of trees cut down from 50 to 137 after a careful review of additional photography Unfortunately, there is evidence emerging this evening that tree-cutting has begun on the East and West Parking lots. Please see the Instagram link below. We will be monitoring this development Sunday morning and, as best as possible, ascertaining what is actually happening. Please stay tuned to this blog for any further information. Be prepared to join protestors at a moment’s notice. It might be a good time to get your posters ready.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0pa9vzrlXZ/ |