Help Us Preserve a Living Part of Toronto's History
This Beautiful Red Oak Has Seen 250 Years
Ancient and majestic, this red oak tree has lived so long it has been honoured with a name: Zhelevo. This special tree predates the founding of its Emory Village neighbourhood, and is now threatened because the property on which it is located is up for sale.
Rotary Toronto West plans to make a legacy gift of $10,000 towards the preservation of the tree in a proposed parkette and has partnered with Rotary Etobicoke, Rotary Toronto Sunrise, and Rotary Toronto Eglinton, the City of Toronto and others in this effort. You can become directly involved in this project by contacting Barry.Rotary@outlook.com
Please support the campaign to save this sylvan treasure by contributing through any of the donation links below.
Zhelevo is an enormous tree as you can see in the picture above, a rendering of what the proposed parkette could look like in its completed state. It contributes mightily to the ecology of the area by capturing more than 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and is estimated to currently store more than 31 tonnes of carbon.
Neighbourhood resident Edith George has been campaigning on behalf of this community resource for many years, succeeding in having the tree declared a Heritage Tree in 2009.
The City of Toronto has conditionally agreed to purchase the property and establish the space as a parkette to preserve and showcase this beautiful example of our natural heritage if $430,000 is raised for the project by December 12, 2020.
As of November 2020 there is a fundraising shortfall of approximately $200,000 but it's not too late to close the gap.
You can help by contributing at any of the donation links below
Make a donation on the Rotarians for Toronto’s Historic Red Oak page.
Donations made on this site will be held in trust by the Ontario Horticultural Trades Foundation. If the campaign is successful in raising the funds required to proceed, a tax receipt will be issued. If it is not successful, donors will be contacted to arrange the return or reallocation of funds to another project.
Make a club or company donation.
The Rotary Club of Toronto West is making a Legacy Gift of $10,000 to save the home of the historic red oak and create a peaceful parkette. Donations of all amounts are welcome and needed!
Make a donation on the City of Toronto’s website.
All donors will receive a tax receipt. If funds raised are insufficient to purchase the land, donations will go to Toronto Urban Forestry’s programs to support tree planting and stewardship on private land and publicly accessible green spaces.
Learn More About Zhelevo
