Remembering the Battle of Vimy Ridge through foliage

Saturday, April 9 marks Vimy Ridge Day, a non-statutory observance to commemorate the deaths and casualties of members of the Canadian Corps in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which took place during First World War. Below, we share an updated version of a story originally published on Dal News in 2017.

A Vimy Ridge Oak was planted in the Alumni Gardens on the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus as part of convocation celebrations five years ago to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge — the First World War battle that is considered a defining moment in Canada’s history.

The tree is a genetic descendant from one of the acorns recovered after the battle and a reminder of the strength and determination of those who gave their lives more than a century ago now.

Jim Landry, executive director of Landscape New Brunswick, obtained the trees from the Vimy Oaks Legacy Foundation for the Maritime Region and made one available to the Faculty of Agriculture at the request of Tracey MacKenzie, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences.

“I'm happy to be able to connect the students with this opportunity to donate a living legacy that goes beyond simply recognizing their time on campus, but also pays tribute to the sacrifice of our veterans that ensured their freedom to pursue an education,” said MacKenzie at the time of the original planting.

Learn more: The Vimy Foundation

A living gift

The five-foot English Oak, one of only 40 in Atlantic Canada, was a gift from the Class of 2017 to the Faculty.

The origin of the Vimy Ridge Oaks dates to the battle’s aftermath in April 1917. Lieutenant Leslie Miller of Scarborough, Ont., gathered a handful of acorns from a partially buried English Oak on the ridge as a souvenir of the battle. He later planted those acorns on farmland back in Scarborough that he called ‘Vimy Oaks Farm.’

Today, several of the original oaks survive — but none remain on Vimy Ridge itself. Several years ago, a team of professional arborists, working with the Vimy Foundation, began to graft cuttings from the original oaks to return Vimy Oaks back to France in honour of the centennial anniversary of the battle. A decision was also made to propagate additional oaks from the originals in Ontario for distribution across Canada.

Related reading From farm boy to soldier: Remembering one Dal alum’s life‑shattering journey into war