Red Maples for Manitoba

Let’s celebrate Canada’s heart beat with bred in Manitoba red maple trees. Plus 150 more wishes for Manitoba’s sesquicentennial anniversary.

By Ian Leatt

I am from a very small island, Jersey, surrounded by the sea, with white sand and palm trees on the beaches, but I have come to love not only this country but also this remarkable province. It amazes me why so many do not realise just how lucky they are!

This city and all its people are friendly, fun and generous to a hilt. I have fallen in love with what I believe is the best place to live on earth. I love living in the prairies.

In 2020, the sesquicentennial anniversary of Manitoba’s entry into confederation 150 years ago, we will all be able to celebrate the historic achievements of our pioneering heroes. One of my wishes for Manitoba’s birthday is to build a red maple forest of the brilliant autumn coloured sugar maple trees bred right here in Manitoba by Jeffries Nursery.

Imagine if every one of the residents of Manitoba could contribute to planting the ‘Lord Selkirk’ and ‘Inferno’ sugar maples the national emblem of Canada and its flag. Now imagine if we had an area large enough for all those red maple trees to be planted in one place! You getting the picture? What if it were designed in such a way that, when planted, it would take the shape of the maple leaf!

It could become a national treasure, a park that lights up the centre of Canada in the fall with its blazing red leaves standing out amongst the gold of a prairie fall. Pathways, water features, special clearings could be designed by landscape architects. It would be a huge project but in the fall, as you fly over Manitoba, you could look down and see the red maple leaf! You would not only know that you are flying over Canada but also Manitoba, the greatest province in Canada, its centre, its heart beat.

Manitoba is my home; I am proud to say this to anyone who cares to ask of me. If you want to try and help me make this happen, drop me an email at [email protected] and let’s get the powers that be on side. Join me in celebrating our great province, making 2020 a year truly to remember.