The large 90-year-old American elm at corner of McMillan and Hirst in front of the SOS (Society of Organized Services) was removed by the City of Parksville last week for safety reasons and has been replaced with three new trees of the same species.
“It turned out to be a really good call,” said parks manager Peter Crawshaw, who said there was nothing left of the core of the big elm.
It was planted when the cenotaph was situated at the end of Memorial Avenue, to commemorate the men from Parksville who died in the First World War.
The city removed the tree in response to a report from an independent International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) arborist.
“The elm was found to be in an advanced stage of declining health with dead wood in the upper canopy and extensive decay in the upper branches, caused by the practice of tree topping, quite common 35 to 40 years ago,” the city explained in a news release.
The city decided it “represents a significant hazard which will only increase as it continues to decline.”