Some west Long Branch residents are banding together to save an historic 160-year-old Black Barn Maple tree that is older than Canada.

This majestic, healthy Black Barn Maple, as it is dubbed locally, is located at the rear of 95 James Street, in Brown’s Line and Lake Shore Blvd. W. area.

Members of the community are mobilizing the community to try to prevent the destruction of this iconic landmark tree that can be seen for miles around.

Residents say the property was purchased a number of years ago and the developer has since obtained a lawyer and applied to the City of Toronto to try and remove the tree to build a larger home.

A hearing into the fate of the maple is before a Toronto Local Appeal Board (TLAB), which will resume hearings on March 29.

The City originally objected to the tree’s removal, then withdrew their objection, to have the tree destroyed. The City in a document stated it had reached a settlement with the applicant/owner, which residents say is a numbered company.

“Everyone should have an interest in this significant loss to the tree canopy and understand the value of trees to our environment,” said group spokesperson, Sheila Carmichael. “This isn’t the first tree to be threatened with destruction nor sadly will it be the last.  We all need to be involved and become advocates for trees.”

The Long Branch Neighbourhood Association’s History and Culture Committee has conducted research that shows the tree was a sapling in the 1860s, when James and Martha Eastwood purchased 500-acres of the Samuel Smith Tract running south of Lake Shore King’s Highway from Etobicoke Creek to about Thirty-First Street.

“This beauty (tree) is healthy, vibrant and full of wildlife,” the committee wrote in its research. “The view of this tree can be enjoyed from James, Forty First, Fortieth and Garden Place.”

Members said the tree managed to be spared over the years.

“Our Black Barn Maple was not felled for development but was allowed to mature to be one of Long Branch’s oldest remaining potential Heritage Trees,” the committee stated.

“With ‘intelligent planning’ the Black Barn Maple can safely remain a ‘beacon of arboreal stewardship’ for years to come.”

That area of Long Branch near Lake Ontario is home of some of the oldest trees in Canada, officials said. Some are older than Confederation which forged us into a country, from a Dominion, in 1867.

Residents are concerned the Black Barn Maple will be removed, like the fate of a historic home at 98 Superior Ave., in Mimico, that was demolished last November even though it had heritage status pending and community efforts to save the home.

For more info, contact Save the Black Maple Committee: Donna 416-996-7587 or Sheila 647-997-3672.