Residents mourn as century-old midtown Toronto willow tree cut down

With the buzz of chainsaws in the background, residents in the Yonge-Eglinton area lamented the death this week of a local landmark: a towering, century-old willow tree.

Andrew Vernon-Betts, a 35-year resident of Berwick Avenue, says the tree was the last of the big willow trees in his neighbourhood. He says single family-homes closest to Yonge Street began to vanish several years ago, replaced by townhouses and highrises. 

And as the homes have disappeared, so have the trees, he says.

"It's a magnificent tree; it's been around a lot longer than most of these houses," said Betts."It provides habitat for birds, animals and it soaks up the groundwater that comes through this area."

"I feel terrible."

The tree sat in the backyard of a two-storey house on Berwick, a quiet tree-lined street like many others in the area. But last year, neighbours say one of the tree's branches fell, damaging a fence.

That put the tree on the radar of city inspectors who, in March, issued a removal order, on the grounds that the tree violated the city's property standards guidelines.

"After an on-site inspection of the willow tree at 45 Berwick Avenue, (the city) issued an order...for its removal as the deteriorating state of this tree could present a safety issue for the property owner or the public in the nearby area," city spokesperson Shane Gerard told CBC Toronto in an email. 

A block south of Eglinton Avenue and running west off Yonge Street, Berwick Avenue is at the heart of an ambitious redevelopment plan, approved by the province in 2019, that promises a much busier neighbourhood "marked by tall buildings and an intense concentration of office, retail, institutional and residential uses at the Yonge-Eglinton intersection," according to publicly available documents published by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in June 2019.

Tree could have been a 'death trap': arborist

Resident Yusuf Bozkurt questioned whether the tree, which shades his backyard, really needed to come down.

"Every morning I hear lots of birds on the tree, I've seen lots of animals making a home (there)," he said. "Yonge and Eglinton is beautiful because we have these beautiful spaces, not just condos."

Veteran arborist Aaron Hill, of Toronto Tree Removal, who was contracted to carry out the city's order, said contrary to what some people might believe, "We're not in love with taking down large trees; we'd far rather be here maintaining it and  preserving it. But the problem is, it's gone beyond that."

As workers rolled large sections of the trunk onto the street, there were obvious signs of decay in the tree's heart.

"It's structurally unsound," Hill told CBC Toronto. "Before it becomes a death trap we're taking it down while it still can be done safely."

Hill called the willow "one of the larger trees in Toronto. The diameter of the trunk is over five feet."

But as much as locals generally like to have large trees remain in place, Hill pointed out safety has to be a priority.

"People sing a different song when a giant tree comes down on their house," he said.