One of Toronto's oldest elm trees is on its last legs. Researchers are racing to re-grow copies

Michael Smee · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

One of the largest aged elm trees successful Toronto — perchance successful each of confederate Ontario — is connected its past legs.

But arsenic the metropolis finalizes plans to instrumentality down the Barton Street landmark adjacent week, a University of Toronto histrion adept is determined to guarantee it volition unrecorded again.

Eric Davies, a forestry ecologist astatine the University of Toronto, visited the histrion earlier this week to grounds its size and stitchery its seeds, which volition beryllium utilized to re-grow a transcript of the histrion successful the aboriginal arsenic portion of the city's Tree Seed Diversity Program (TSDP). He and his students measured the trunk's tallness astatine 40 metres and its circumference astatine 5.5 metres.

"It's sad," helium said of the tree's fate. "Each 1 that comes down, you privation to bash it immoderate benignant of justness by improving our quality to support Toronto's trees and forests."

Residents of the Seaton Village neighbourhood, successful the Christie and Bloor streets area, noticed earlier this twelvemonth that the aged American elm remained barren this spring, portion overmuch younger adjacent trees were increasing leaves.

WATCH | Effort underway to regrow dying Toronto elm histrion from seeds:

Thirteen-year-old Ethan Tantram, who passes the histrion each time connected his mode to school, said helium and his begetter noticed this outpouring that the histrion seemed ill.

"It's heartbreaking," helium said this week. "It's a large happening successful our community."

Unclear what's sidesplitting the tree

The teen utilized his drone to get a person look astatine the tree's branches and his begetter aboriginal called the metropolis to study the histrion wasn't doing well.

City unit said an inspector determined during a May 30 sojourn that the histrion was dying and posed a information to the public. 

City spokesperson Shane Gerard told CBC Toronto successful an email the metropolis has tried to find precisely what's sidesplitting the tree, but laboratory results person been inconclusive.

"The histrion was observed with a thinning crown and yellowing leaves successful precocious summertime 2024," his email reads. "Removing the histrion volition forestall it from becoming a hazard, arsenic dormant branches are much prone to breakage."

Davies, who's recognized by the metropolis arsenic a effect gatherer for the effect diverseness program, says he'll beryllium connected manus Tuesday erstwhile the histrion is brought down.

"This is 1 of the nicest remaining elms successful Toronto (and) astir apt has a precocious prime cistron banal to it," helium said. "Each 1 is not lone important ecologically but culturally."

Local creator Jode Roberts, who lives wrong show of the tree, agreed it's meant a batch to the community.

Last year, helium utilized aged photos of the neighbourhood from the metropolis archives to peg the tree's property astatine at much than 100 years.

He past fashioned a practice plaque explaining the tree's value and attached it to a inferior rod adjacent to the tree.

"There's a profound sadness erstwhile thing similar this disappears," helium told CBC Toronto. "It survived Dutch elm illness and the improvement of the metropolis astir it. So definite — let's instrumentality its babies and spot if we tin marque much majestic elms."

Native trees vastly outnumbered, says researcher

Once Davies has gathered the elm's seeds, they'll spell into the TSDP, which volition administer them to 1 of respective participating nurseries successful the Greater Toronto Area. Once they've matured, successful 4 to 7 years, they'll beryllium planted successful 1 of the city's 80-odd parks and ravines — 1 that's been identified arsenic a bully acceptable for a caller elm tree.

Davies and a squad of U of T students are spending the summertime mapping the city's largest and oldest autochthonal histrion species. He says those autochthonal trees are vastly outnumbered successful Toronto by invasive species, and helium hopes his representation volition let the metropolis to assistance successful their regeneration.

Each histrion that's mapped is measured and its seeds collected, helium said. Those seeds volition past beryllium passed connected to the TSDP for regrowth.

One of Davies' summertime students is Sam Sedgwick, who's studying toward a master's grade successful wood conservation astatine U of T.

He called the Barton Street elm the astir awesome he's seen truthful far.

"With the beingness of Dutch elm disease, we've mislaid beauteous overmuch each ample elm successful the city, truthful the information this 1 is inactive present truly speaks to its resilience," helium said. "We truly privation to sphere those genetics arsenic overmuch arsenic we can."

Sedgwick helped instrumentality measurements of the elm earlier this week. He noted the histrion is much than 5 metres successful circumference, 40 metres precocious and that its canopy covers 5 houses connected Barton Street.

"That's a batch of aerial conditioning," helium said.