Mapping the Invisible

Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)

Private Residence, view from the alley. Tree ages: unknown.

A collection of Silver Maples in St. Clair.

American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

Seth Waterman, Resident and Steward Tree age: approximately 250 years old.

Seth Waterman is the proud steward of this sizable American Sycamore and has generously opened his backyard to the community for this weekend's tour. We'll stop by briefly on our guided tour, but members of the tour are welcome to come back at noon to take a longer look.

Sycamore trees that are native to our region often become scraggily and splayed out when they age. They are interesting because they love water. Most often, when you see a Sycamore that has been growing in a certain location for a long time, there is often water close by.

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)

Public Street Trees, view from street. Trees: approximately 150+ years old.

Sugar Maples have recently had a hard time, especially in urban areas. They are more sensitive to urban pollutants than other species, such as Silver Maple trees. However, occasionally they can be found growing together in unusual places.

Gingko (Gingko bilboa)

Private Residence, view from street. Tree age: unknown.

Gingko trees are an interesting tree to throw into the mix in any city. They are pre-historic and have been alive since the time of the dinosaurs. Gingko's went functionally extinct several centuries ago and were found growing in a cave in Mongolia by a group of monks. These monks took the seedlings to a monastery and began to cultivate the tree in courtyards and gardens. Since this time Gingko's have spread around the world and are one of the hardiest street trees that can grow in urban conditions.

In 1785 William Hamilton brought a Gingko as a gift to botanist, William Bartram in Philadelphia. The tree was planted and cultivated in what has become Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philadelphia, where the tree still stands today. It is believed to be the oldest living Gingko in North America, with a documented age of 240 years old. It is unclear how Gingko trees of considerable age and girth have made their way to Hamilton, such as this one on Fairleigh Avenue. One theory, posited by Paul General, former head of Six Nations Eco-Center, is that tree seeds could have been brought North by Indigenous travelers, who often frequented routes between Philadelphia and Hamilton during this time and were in the practice of carrying seeds.

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)

Ron and Linda Etty, Residents and Stewards of heritage Oak in St. Clair. Tree age: approximately 200+ years old.

This beautiful Northern Red Oak is the crown jewel of the St. Clair neighborhood. The canopy sits well above Ron and Linda's three-story brick home and stretches across nearly three properties. Ron and Linda notice a considerably cooler, moister micro-climate under the tree in the summer. Many of these large Monument Trees are capable of creating their own micro-climate conditions, significantly altering the ecosystem and atmosphere in their backyard environments.

It is possible that this tree is leftover from a former farm, occupied the boundary of a property line, and therefore was left standing. There are few trees of monumental size and girth in the downtown Hamilton area because this part of the city has a long history of farming. Northern Red Oaks are the faster-growing species of the Oak family, but they can still live for a long time in the right conditions.

As trees of considerable size have an impressive canopy, such as this one does, one has to keep in mind that the root capacity of a Monument Tree can stretch three times the width of the canopy. These trees do the work of a small forest to clean the air, hold moisture in the soil, and deposit carbon into the ground while creating ecological and social value for the entire neighborhood. Be sure to bring a coffee mug to Ron and Linda's place!

Northern Red Oak Hybrid (Quercus rubra)

Private Residence, view from street.Tree age: unknown.

White Oak (Quercus alba)

Private Residence, view from alley. Tree age: unknown.

Beech

Private Residence, view from street. Tree age: approximately 250 years old.

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)

Public Park. Tree age: approximately 200 years old.

Sometimes old trees can be found growing in a park. It is rare, but this Northern Red Oak tree is one of the few Monument Trees in the North end of Hamilton.

Yulan Magnolia (Magnolia denudata) + garden

Kim Morgan, Resident and Steward. Tree age: unknown.

Although this beautiful Magnolia is not native, it is worth seeing. Kim has taken excellent care of this tree over the past several years. A neighbour who lived in the house as a child remembers her grandmother telling stories about this Magnolia. Residents have strong memories around this tree and stories that stretch back generations, and believe the tree to be of considerable age.

The Yulan Magnolia is from China and has been cultivated since 600 AD. A prized possession, the tree was brought to England in 1780. The presence of this tree in Hamilton may indicate that it was brought by a person from England during the period of the city's early settlement.

This Yulan Magnolia sits above the street and forms the centerpiece of Kim's downtown backyard garden. It's a great example of an inner-city backyard that does a lot with a little space.

Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) + garden

Laura Sergeant, Resident and Steward Tree age: approximately 136 - 140 years old.

This native Silver Maple is the prize and joy of Laura Sergeant's backyard in the Durand neighborhood in downtown Hamilton. Laura is a former musician, writer, and social worker, who recently won a Hamilton Literary award for her work on memory, family and gardening. Her backyard garden is carefully orchestrated around her Monument Tree, incorporating it into the landscape design.

Laura's home sits in a small depression in the neighbourhood where her property is slightly lower than the other's around her. Silver Maple trees often grow exceedingly large in the city over a short period of time, which makes their age tricky to determine. They are big water gulpers and one of the only native trees in our region that thrives in urban areas and can tolerate some pollution. Although trees and urban infrastructure often come into contact with one another, large trees can also help absorb groundwater in certain areas that are prone to wetness. They also cool the air in the summer!

Join Laura on Sunday for a second hosted introduction to her Silver Maple and woodland garden. When entering from the back alley, look for the small shed with a dark purple door. Don't forget to check out the cedars across the back fence!

Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra)

Judy de Rubeis, Resident and Steward on the Hamilton mountain. Tree age: approximately 150+ years old.

Slippery Elm is a rare tree in Hamilton, with only a few healthy specimens documented. This mature Ulmus rubra is in excellent condition, thanks to the stewardship of the de Rubeis family. Historically, Slippery Elm was a medicine tree for our Indigenous community members in the area. Certain parts of the tree can be used to treat colds. As tree disease is becoming an increasing challenge for biodiversity and urban ecology, such as Dutch Elm disease, it is important that we take care of the heritage trees that we have. They represent the strongest links to shared cultural and ecological history. Please be mindful of the grass, other trees and roots and observe from the street if possible.

Red Maple (Acer rubra), Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)

Potential Development. Trees: range from approx 150 - 200+ years old.

The lands next to St. Joseph's West 5th Campus contain a relatively large number of old trees. There are two native maple species catalogued at this location, but keep your eye out for old oaks and maples scattered across this landscape. These species historically coexisted together in the forest.

European Beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Public Health Institute, walkway. Tree age: approximately 200+ years old.

European Beech is not a native tree to Canada. I've included this Beech in the tour because it is an unusually large tree, and much loved by people in the city - as you can see by the graffiti. Legacy trees that have a presence in the landscape, like this one does, often show signs of human interaction.

Although this isn't a native tree, its size and approximate age indicate that it was planted nearly two centuries ago. It is possible that this tree was planted by the family that once owned the farm on this landscape before the hospital was built, who were likely descendants from England where this tree is native.

Heritage trees often point to the history and culture of the people who also occupied a region at a given time.

White Oak (Quercus alba)

Public Health Institute. Trees: range from approx 150 - 200+ years old.

Two examples of old Oaks on the West 5th campus that are likely over two hundred years old. If you look carefully, you can often find their companion species, Sugar Maple.

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

Private Residence, view from across the street - this is a busy intersection, be mindful of traffic. Tree age: approximately 250+ years old.

Bur Oaks are the slowest growing members of the Oak family in Southern Ontario. Their relationship with time gives them a strength that is a silent superpower when it comes to city living. They are often able to withstand the harshest conditions that would topple other trees, as is the case with this stately tree growing next to a busy intersection, and through hydro wires.

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)

Public Park. Tree age: approximately 180+ years old.

Colquhoun Park is an interesting landscape. The gently mounding hill that this collection of healthy trees sit upon suggests the historic bank of a river or a stream could have once been present beneath the green fields. Prior to settlement, certain areas of the Hamilton mountain were rich with wetlands and wildlife. These wetlands fed streams that drained over the escarpment as waterfalls. Today we can still see impressions of this history through the form of the earth and the trees that remain.

This collection of Oaks is one of my favorite sites in Hamilton. The trees are in good condition and include a variety of Oak specimens, as well as a lone Sugar Maple.

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) + garden

Doug Foley, Resident and Steward Tree age: approximately 200+ years old

Doug Foley, former writer for the Hamilton Spectator, has one of the most significant Shagbark Hickory trees in the city. The size and mass of this tree suggest it has been living in this landscape for a very long time. Doug has built a beautiful garden around this Shagbark hickory that expands into the backyard and is looking forward to sharing it with the community. With a lush collection of azaleas and rhododendrons, it is an impressive collection for a quiet suburban yard.

Shagbark hickory trees are one of the longest-lived trees in our region. They have dense wood and a growth factor rate of 7.5, which means they are slow-growing. These trees are companion species with Northern Red Oak, Bur Oak and White Oak in our region. If you find a large Oak tree, it is not uncommon to find a Shagbark Hickory tree not far off.

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)

Public Trail. Tree age: approximately 200+ years old.

Although it is rare to find, there are some Monument Trees along the rail trail. Many of these lands were deforested to make way for the train that was previously active along this route. However, some studies have hypothesized that old trains created sparks that could have contributed to fires that were needed for ecological regeneration of savanna landscapes. Fire is an active part of Oak savanna landscapes as several prairie species are dependent on fire. In many places up and down the East coast and in Southern Ontario, fire was also used by Indigenous community members to regenerate the landscape and to help create opportunity for food diversity, much like farmers continue to do today.

Tulip Tree (Liriodendron Tulipifera) + garden

Jean Jacobs, Resident and Steward Tree age: approximately 130-150 years old

Jean Jacobs is the proud owner of this beautiful Tulip Tree in Dundas. The tree sits perched on a hill on her front yard and appears to watch over the street. Although Tulip Trees grow relatively quickly and their age is challenging to determine, this large native tree is the only one of its kind in her neighborhood. Jean is an active member of the ecological community in Hamilton. She is involved with the North American Native Plant Society (NANPS), an organization that does a lot of great work in our region with native plants and seeds. Ask her for advice on where to get native seeds if you are interested!

Tulip Trees are an important part of the Carolinian life zone, which stretches from our Niagara Escarpment biome here in Hamilton down through the United States to Pennsylvania and through the Carolinas. It is one of the richest places for biodiversity on the planet, and the tulip tree is the tallest tree in the Carolinian forest. They also produce a beautiful tulip flower in the spring.

Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)

Laura Sergeant, Resident and Steward. Tree age: approximately 136 - 140 years old.

Join Laura on Sunday for a hosted introduction to her Silver Maple and woodland garden. Look for the small shed with a dark purple door when entering from the back alley. Don't forget to check out the cedars across the back fence!

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

Julian & Natalie, Residents and Stewards of a significant Bur Oak. Tree age: approximately 300 years old.

Julian and Natalie are the proud caretakers of this majestic Oak tree. Once you notice it towering above the homes on Upper Wentworth it is hard to believe one could ever miss it. Its canopy stretches over several of the properties on the street and provides incredible shade coverage and habitat in the summer. You can see that this tree is actively seeding more baby trees, as there are a few smaller oaks surrounding it.

Oak trees are important in our region for a few reasons. Namely, they are incredible biodiversity anchors, providing more habitat for other species than almost any other tree in our region. They have dense wood, grow slowly, and can live for 400 years in the right conditions.

Prior to the settlement of Hamilton, these oak trees would have made up the structure and architecture of the forest and savanna landscapes they were a part of. Oaks that have many limbs that stretch out instead of up, as this one does, indicate that they have been growing in a sunny environment. Please be mindful of the size of this tree and view the tree from the alley behind Julian and Natalie's home.

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)

Public Park. Tree age: approximately 200+ years old

I love this tree. It is one of the first Sugar Maples I came across in the city. At the time I was surprised to see it, looming over the parking lot. I grew up in this neighborhood and walked by this tree for years, without really seeing it. Heritage trees have this presence in the city. They are silent observers of life as it transforms around them, and keep watch by recording each passing year in their bark and in their leaves. This sugar maple is weathered by time. Its height, girth, beveled bark, and the thickness of its branches suggest it is around 200 years old, placing its germination year around 1822.

There are several sugar maples at the base of the escarpment of a comparable age that are in much healthier condition. Without a standing forest around them, many old trees on the escarpment are vulnerable to high winds and storms, and lose their top, as this one has. Sugar maples aren't as dense as their companion Oak species and benefit from the tougher wood of Oak trees growing around them for protection.

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

Public Street Tree. Tree age: approximately 180+ years old.

The linear park along Mountain Park Avenue is an interesting street. The apartment buildings that now make up the built edge of the Hamilton mountain barely disguise the old orchards that once stood here. This Northern Red Oak isn't one of the largest in the collection, but it is a pre-settlement tree and has likely been here longer than the city has. Next to this tree, at the end of the parking lot, is a heritage apple tree leftover from one of the orchards. In the fall the tree produces amazing apples that fall all over the cars parked beneath them. We pay a lot of money for heritage apples at the grocery store!

If you look carefully, you may find other pre-settlement trees along this route.

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

Public Street Tree. Tree age: approximately 180+ years old.

A formidable oak tree. Oak trees are one of the toughest species in our region. Their presence in the landscapes indicates the previous ecological histories of the landscape, as they are the last strongholds standing from previous time periods. Like Silver Maples, Oaks are also able to withstand urban pollution, foot traffic, and interaction with people, which is why we still see them in urban areas.

Hamilton is part of a network of prairie savanna that extends down the Eastern United States. Today, many of our major cities are built in landscapes that were once prairie savanna. Many of our old Oaks are indications of this cultural and ecological history.

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)

Private Residence, view from street. Tree age: approximately 300 years old.

A few people have pointed this tree out to me. It is remarkable because of its size, but also because it represents a trend in this neighborhood. Unlike other areas of the city, Hampton Heights, as this neighbourhood is called, has a high number of Bur Oak trees. Several very large and old species dot the landscape, suggesting that this part of Hamilton was once home to a predominantly Oak forest or Oak savanna. This tree is on private property. Please be mindful of the resident and view from the street.

Bur Oak Family (Quercus macrocarpa)

Public Recreation Centre & Park Mother Tree: approximately 300+ years old with a younger tree family.

It is rare to find groups of trees in the city that are connected to one another. In a forest condition, this is the optimal situation for a tree. Like many other organisms, trees care for their offspring by sending nutrients to them under the ground. Recent research by Susan Simard has shown that trees can identify their offspring and send different amounts of nutrients to trees that they have spawned. This is important for issues relating to biodiversity and climate in cities because it means trees that are connected to one another have a better chance of staving off disease and becoming more resilient to changes in the climate over time.

Although it is rare to find urban trees growing together in a community, as this group is, it is important to recognize the value of these ecological and social relationships when we find them. I saved this location as the best for last. It is fitting that this tree family is growing in a recreation center next to a playground.