Q&A: The Meeting Tree has deep roots in London's Westminster Ponds
The nearly 700-year-old white oak tree has a stories to tell
There's a mighty white oak tree in London's Westminster Ponds that has been standing for nearly seven centuries.
The Meeting Tree spans three metres in diameter and stands about 10 storeys tall. It's estimated to be about 677 years old and among its long history, the tree was once a meeting place for former slaves travelling from the United States on the Underground Railroad.
CBC London Morning host Andrew Brown visited the Meeting Tree with ReForest London co-executive director Shaquille Sealy to learn about its local significance.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Andrew Brown: Why is it called the meeting tree?
Shaquille Sealy: It actually has a long history related to the Underground Railroad. When slaves were escaping slavery out of America and travelling through the Underground Railroad up north, the Meeting Tree here in London was one of the locations in which they met to find safety. Canada was definitely a more safe place for them to come. London is a location with access to the Thames River and the water. It was a great location for you to be able to move to various places very quickly. So it worked out for them.
AB: Is it the Meeting Tree because it's so huge and kind of an obvious place?
SS: Oh yeah, when you come to the Westminster Ponds, you cannot miss the Meeting Tree. It is a grand tree, it's a specimen, and you definitely could use it as a landmark.
AB: What do you think when you look at it?
SS: I really think about how lucky we are here in London to have natural spaces like the Westminster Ponds and to have a heritage tree such as this. There are very few unique spaces where you have access to green space.
I'm even luckier that our offices are here at the Westminster Ponds Centre, where Reforest London is able to contribute to the urban canopy and the urban forest, and hopefully be able to plant and nurture trees to one day grow similar to this.
WATCH: Shaquille Sealy at the Meeting Tree in Westminster Ponds:
AB: I'm looking around right now. I don't see any other trees that look anything like this one. Why is it here?
SS: Well, a squirrel one day planted an acorn and it was just the right conditions for this tree. I actually really look at it as a testament to the idea that you grow where you're planted. And this tree was planted in this spot. It has definitely taken some bumps and bruises and has some scarring. It's dealt with a lot over the years, but it's continued to grow even through all that adversity. And now it's risen above most of the forests, contributing significantly to the canopy.
AB: Do we know what kind of adversity this tree would have run into over the years?
SS: Well, we definitely have had some people who have contributed to trying to leave their mark in the tree. Animals have left their mark over time and also just basic weather conditions, wear and tear.