'It’s a tragedy': Climate activist wants Harris Park trees saved, but city going ahead with erosion project

A university climate activist held a small protest Sunday at Harris Park, in hopes of saving centuries-old trees in downtown London, Ont.

“It’s really a tragedy to me,” said Genevieve Langille, a Western University student. “These are trees I grew up around, climbing on, and playing on. It's just really sad.”

The City of London originally had planned to remove 29 trees as part of the Harris Park Shoreline Restoration and Park Improvements project.

“We are taking them down because we do have some major work to do along the banks of the Thames and Harris Park for shoreline erosion mitigation,” said Shawn Lewis, London deputy mayor. “We're protecting the entire flow of the Thames and the access to Harris Park. So they have to come down because the work has to be done.”

Langille agrees that re-doing the shoreline is important, but feels that the tree cutting was not necessary.

“You could definitely do construction around them,” said Langille. “There's a long report with all the assessments including by an arborist and 20 of the trees are in fairly good condition that are being cut down. So those 20 weren’t in the way, really you could have done the project around them.”

Protesters hug one of the mature trees at Harris Park on March 24, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

After Ward 13 Coun. David Ferreira walked along the banks of the Thames River with city staff last month to see if any trees could be saved, they identified a way to adjust the project.

“We were able to identify a way to adjust the path, and return up to four trees, which is confirmed with a possibility of one or two more,” said Ferreira.

The city added it will be replacing the trees with 89 additional trees.

“Yes, they will be smaller trees of course,” said Lewis. “Trees have a lifecycle just like human beings do, just like any living thing does. They will grow and mature over time and provide a great canopy in the future.”

Among those rallying alongside Langille was classmate Arthur Mustard-Thompson. He has long admired the trees along the banks of the Thames.

“They're just so large, these ancient trees, and I was just so concerned that they're being removed,” said Mustard-Thompson, who admitted it is too late to make much change, as many of the trees have been chopped at this point.

24 trees are marked to be cut down at Harris Park, seen on March 24, 2024, as part of the Harris Park Shoreline Restoration and Park Improvements project. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

He continued, “I think that the beauty of this park is that there weren't as many trees which is kind of an interesting perspective. But I think that having less trees in this park made these giant trees stand out more. So I think that packing this park’s full of trees, it will lose that effect.”

Lewis sympathized with the protesters, but said the city “doesn’t just cut down trees for no reason.”

“We need to start replacing some of the erosion mitigation measures,” said Lewis. “The cages with the rocks in them that are used to protect the banks of the Thames the way it is now, we will be in far worse shape in terms of flooding, in terms of species at risk, habitat loss, and in terms of even the welfare of the trees that are remaining. So we've got to do this work and unfortunately, the trees have to come down in order to make that happen.”

Langille expressed frustration, saying that across the city, projects have cut down trees and not replaced them despite saying they would.

“All the places where they said they're going to replace them often are not replaced to the same extent and to the same growth,” said Langille. “It's just really disappointing to me, and it's a huge tragedy. If you're planning on replacing trees, you should do it properly.”