A 125-year-old Calgary elm tree will be cut down, but it won't be forgotten
An American Elm that has grown in the parking lot outside the Calgary Stampede grounds for more than 125 years, will be removed this spring, but it will live on thanks to the internet.
The tree, affectionately known as the Stampede Elm, was planted at the intersection of four backyards in the early 1900s.
Now, as progress is being made on the new event centre, officials say the tree will be removed this spring.
Efforts were made to determine if the Stampede Elm could be transplanted, but the city found a crack in one of its branches that meant it likely wouldn't survive the trip.
Instead, researchers from the University of Calgary used a 3D scanner to digitally preserve the tree.
That work is now complete and the results are available online.
"We are grateful the University of Calgary was able to use this technology to capture the Victoria Park Elm. They were able to create a tactile tool that can be used to tell the tale of this tree for future generations," said event centre lead Bob Hunter in a news release.
"Their work will allow us to remember and honour what Calgary’s landscape looked like in its first 150 years."
A 3D scan of Calgary's Stampede Elm, has produced a digital copy of the tree that so many Stampede guests have seen as they come and go from the grounds. (Supplied)
The city says a number of the seeds harvested from the Stampede Elm are already growing in nurseries and a number of branches from the tree are being cultivated.
"If these branches propagate successfully, they will result in genetically identical trees to the Victoria Park Elm that can be re-planted back into Calgary’s urban forest," officials said.
The goal is to re-plant between 100 and 200 elm trees through the project.
Historic building also on the chopping block
In addition to the Stampede Elm, the event centre construction project means the end to another part of historic downtown Calgary.
The Stephenson & Co. Grocers building, located at the corner of 13 Avenue and Fifth Street S.E., will be dismantled and relocated starting this spring.
The city says efforts are underway to find the right location for the building.
"While a final decision remains to be had, options include adaptive re-use, such as repurposing the structure for commercial, cultural, or community use," officials said.
As discussions progress, the building will be temporarily stored at a secure location, the city said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.