12 janvier/février 2011, vol. 87, no 1 — The foresTry ChroniCle

OLD GROWTH FORÊTS ANCIENNES

orfolk County in southwesternOntario is living testimony to two of

the first Canadian foresters that prac-tised all the aspects of their profession,beginning more than a hundred yearsago. Dr. Edmund J. Zavitz started the St.Williams Forestry Station in 1908 andDr. James H. White, the first forestrygraduate of a Canadian university (Uni-versity of Toronto) initiated extensivetree planting trials near Turkey Pointabout the same time. Their work guidedreforestation in southern Ontario forgenerations, with results now evident inevery County. Provincially, as ChiefProvincial Forester, Zavitz initiatedgreatly improved forest fire controlmethods and White led many originalprovincial forest resources surveys.

Few of today’s practising foresterswould have met these men. The Cana-dian Institute of Forestry honouredWhite in 1946 for his work with a com-

memorative plaque and cairn in theTurkey Point Forest, which wasrenamed the J. H. White Forest.

At the 100th anniversary celebrationof the St. Williams Nursery, keynotespeaker Ken Armson noted that theplaque for Dr. White had become obliv-ious through the development of aprovincial park at the original locationand also that there was no memorial forDr. Zavitz, even though Zavitz has oftenbeen called “The Father of Reforesta-tion in Ontario”. Members of the localPort Rowan/South Walsingham Her-itage Association and the SouthernOntario Section of the CIF/IFCaccepted Ken’s challenge to find a way tohonour both pioneers. A small commit-tee was formed to pursue the project.

A new, more prominent location atTurkey Point has been selected for Dr.White’s original plaque. A site has alsobeen selected on the “Picnic Grounds”

of the former St. Williams Forestry Sta-tion where a new memorial will beinstalled for Dr. Zavitz, naming the cur-rent “Nursery Tract” of the St.WilliamsConservation Reserve “The Dr.Edmund J. Zavitz Forest”. It will be closeto the grave of Colonel Arthur Pratt,M.P.P., one of the other founders of theStation. The cost of the project is esti-mated to be approximately $10 000. Todate, members of the CIF/IFC’s South-ern Ontario Section have donated$1,000; another $1000 has come fromthe CIF/IFC’s FACT fund. A privatedonation of $1000 has also been made.If all goes as planned, the official unveil-ing of the memorials will be August 14,2011 during the “Forest Fest” to be heldat the former Forestry Station, nownamed “The St.Williams Nursery andEcology Centre”.

Members of the Canadian forestrycommunity, forest-related businessesand the general public are invited toparticipate in this program by makingdonations to the “Memorial Fund” c/oPort Rowan South Walsingham Her-itage Association, PO Box 193, PortRowan, ON, N0E 1M0. For furtherdetails, please contact Dolf Wynia, chairof the fundraising committee at 519 8753350 or wynia@kwic.com. Time is ofthe essence as, unfortunately, almostevery week there are fewer foresters thatwill remember these pioneers. A list ofcontributors will be displayed in theForest Interpretive Centre at the Nurs-ery, which some will remember as the“Museum” and which is now operatedby the Heritage Association.

Commemorating Two Forest Pioneers in OntarioN

Dolf Wynia (L) and Paul Smith, President of the Port Rowan/South Walsingham HeritageAssociation in front of the St. Williams Forest Interpretive Centre with the salvaged plaquere-naming the Turkey Point Forest the J. H. White Forest in 1949.

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