Heritage Tree

Weekends in the summer are a time to unwind, relax and get outside. Whether you are camping, cottaging or simply enjoying the great outdoors, here in Ontario we’re lucky enough to have access to a whole lot of green!

Known as the Champlain Oaks, these 4 mature, healthy bur oak are remnants of an old-growth forest, and direct descendants of the oak forest noted by Captain Pierre Chevalier de Troyes in his 1686 journal. The forest in which this trees were originally found had great importance to First Nations, who called it “the place where the oaks grow”, and would have been seen by Samuel de Champlain during his travels up the Ottawa River.

The Heritage Tree Program was launched in 2009 by Forests Ontario (then Trees Ontario) in partnership with the Ontario Urban Forest Council (OUFC). The program allows anyone across Ontario to nominate a tree for recognition based on its social or cultural history or its special community significance. A number of criteria may qualify a tree as a Heritage Tree, including its distinct size, form, age, rarity, or its connection with historic individuals, events, or locations.