Dutch elm disease (DED) has been confirmed in a tree along the Memorial Avenue of Trees at Saskatoon’s Woodlawn Cemetery. The City of Saskatoon says since the tree tested positive for the disease, it will be removed. “This is a difficult thing to have to do, and an action we have to take with a heavy heart,” said Director of Parks Thai Hoang. “While any historic elm that must be removed is a loss, this hits a bit harder.” The Memorial Avenue of Trees was created to commemorate the men and women who died during the first World War. “It’s not simply a public memorial, but an intensely personal one - none of these men was ever coming home,” said City Archivist Jeff O’Brien. “There would be no grave here in Saskatoon for people to stand at, no place to put flowers on, but you could have a tree in Woodlawn Cemetery, growing in celebration of the specific person that had been lost.” The tree being removed is in memory of ‘The Officers of the Forever Scotland Camp.’ The City says it’s immediately removing the infected tree and has notified Parks Canada, as the trees are an historic site. O’Brien said the Memorial Avenue of Trees is unique in Canada. “There were at one time a number of these arboreal memorials in many cities such as Victoria, Montreal and Winnipeg, for example, but over the years, they’ve all been cut down,” he said. Earlier this year, the City said DED was likely here to stay in Saskatoon. It reminds residents of the pruning ban on elm trees in effect until the end of August.
