“How old do you think the tree is?” Jim Robson, the Director of Facilities at St. Jerome’s University, asked while we stared upwards into the branches of a large, spreading bur oak on the university campus. The tree sits near Laurel Creek and has been providing shade to the students of SJU for decades, through its exact age is difficult to determine without taking a core from the trunk and counting the rings. The diameter of the trunk at breast height is 118cm, which can be used to deduce that the tree is over a century old. As the oldest post-secondary institution in the Region, I wondered if St. Jerome’s university might have clues to help corroborate this.
While the university was founded in 1865 (two years before the Dominion of Canada), it wasn’t growing on the property along Laurel Creek until 1960, when it became federated with the University of Waterloo**. The aerial image below features the newly constructed SJU campus and the majestic, albeit slightly smaller, oak tree in 1965.
Recent imagery proves the tree is at least 60 years old, although from the size of the tree in 1965, it’s likely closer to 120 years old. While many of the other trees from 1965 no longer grace the landscape and have been succeeded by new trees, I’m grateful to the founders of St. Jerome’s for preserving this oak. At the time of construction, they likely didn’t know how impactful a tree like this would become when facing a quickly changing climate. This tree alone stores ~8 tonnes of carbon in its branches, trunk, and roots, reducing the amount that enters our atmosphere. They didn’t know that this tree would bear witness to generations of student graduates, all while providing invaluable habitat to the birds and animals that call its branches home.
I’m also grateful to the community at St. Jerome’s, the Ages Foundation, and Sutherland Insurance for supporting the care of this legacy oak through Tree Trust, which provided pruning work in the spring of 2025 to extend its lifespan. On April 22nd, 2025, Reep, Tree Trust and SJU celebrated Earth Day by planting 4 new ‘understory’ saplings to ensure the community receives the benefits from trees for many more years to come. We may not be able to determine just how old this magnificent oak is, but we can be certain of the benefits that it’s providing to the community that continues to care for it and steward this beautiful campus.
If you’re interested in supporting the work that Tree Trust does to care for legacy trees like this oak, consider donating here.
