Belleville Heritage Tree Gets a Make Over

By Robyn Lloyd-Phillips, Gr 10 Geoventure Student
April 26, 2010

During a recent outdoor education activity in the forested area just east of Haig Road, Moira Secondary School Geoventure students stumbled upon a breathtakingly beautiful oak tree, surrounded sadly by years of human trash. Inspired to act, the students organized a garbage clean-up the following day. The students trudged through the mud and removed old buckets, chairs, bundled newspapers, cans, and bottles. In total, they hauled a trailer load of garbage from the site, restoring it to its natural beauty.

Wanting to know more about the tree, students researched and discovered the tree is estimated to be around 250 years old and has numerous “offspring” oaks in its vicinity. The tree has a long and sorted history. It was slated for the chainsaw in order to make a new subdivision a few years back but was saved by several environmental organizations. In the fight to preserve it, it earned the prestigious title of “Heritage Tree”.

The teenagers left the vacant lot feeling as though they had made a small but significant difference to the natural environment. “It feels good to do something positive for the Earth,” said grade 10 Geoventure student Tyler Tischbein. The class, along with other Moira students, also plans to participate in the annual Belleville Trash Bash on April 17th as part of Volunteer and Information Quinte’s Change the World Youth Challenge. This event will also kick off Earth Day celebrations at Moira.