MEDIA ADVISORY: Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign Partners With The Garden Club of Toronto To Plant Memorial Garden

Toronto, ON - On Monday, November 8, the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign will be holding an event to celebrate the memorial garden they planted with their partner The Garden Club of Toronto. New benches will be unveiled to help enhance the garden as a space for remembrance and reflection. This is one of several HOH Tree Campaign events across Ontario in November in reflection of Remembrance Day.

This event will include speeches from local dignitaries and sponsors including Mark Cullen (Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign), Joy Gray Donald (Garden Club of Toronto President), Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak, and MPP Roman Baber (York Centre). A staged photo-op unveiling of the new benches will follow the speeches.

About Highway of Heroes:

When is a tree more than just a tree? The answer is when the tree is part of a memorial to honour Canada’s fallen heroes. We are planting 2 million trees for all Canadians that have served during times of conflict since Confederation and including the War of 1812. 117,000 of the most prominent trees will be planted along and near the stretch of the 401 known as the Highway of Heroes, one tree for every life lost while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. This tribute provides a myriad of environmental benefits and offers an opportunity to tell the story of those that have served in the Armed Forces, reminding future generations of the great debt we owe these courageous Canadians.

The Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign is funded by Veterans Affairs Canada, the Government of Ontario, Cullen’s Foods, Landscape Ontario, Forests Ontario, TD Bank, The City of Toronto, The City of Quinte West, Intact Public Entities, Harrington & Associates, Rotary District 7070, Maple Leaves Forever, and the Garden Club of Toronto. To learn more, visit www.hohtribute.ca.

About The Garden Club of Toronto:

Since 1946 the Garden Club of Toronto [GCT] has pioneered major horticultural, gardening related, floral artistry, educational and environmental projects. True to its vision of sharing the wonder of nature through education, engagement and creativity, the GCT stimulates a love of gardening among amateurs and aids in the protection of native trees, birds, plants, trees and soil. The GCT played a key role in creating The Civic Garden Centre in the 1960’s, now called the Toronto Botanical Garden which is about to undergo an enlargement and replanting that will include Edwards Gardens. The Club was a co-founder of Canada Blooms and has created more than 50 gardens, notably Spadina House and Casa Loma Gardens. 

Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022, the GCT is proud to rededicate the garden recently created jointly by The Highway of Heroes and the Garden Club of Toronto, as a Memorial Garden. Annually, there will be a service during Remembrance week to honour all those who died serving in Canada’s armed forces from 1867 to the present.  The garden/parkette is situated across from the Coroners’s Office and Humber River Hospital at Keele St. and Sir Willian Hearst Way. Benches have recently been added to make it a place of remembrance, reflection and peace amongst flowers, trees and birds.