Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
May 21, 2002
Vineland garden honours gift of Sakura trees
The Sakura Project, chaired by the Consulate General of Japan, has donated Sakura trees to the University of Guelph as a symbol of friendship between Canada and Japan. The Department of Plant Agriculture’s Vineland campus will acknowledge this gift at a ceremonial tree planting May 28 at noon. The event is open to the media and the public.
Sakura is a Japanese cherry blossom tree that is Japan’s most beloved plant and most celebrated flower. The aim of the Sakura Project is to plant 3,000 Sakura trees around Ontario over a decade.
Guests at the Vineland ceremony will include Takashi Koezuka, consul general of Japan in Toronto; U of G chancellor Lincoln Alexander; Ontario Agricultural College dean Craig Pearson; Clarence Swanton, chair of the Department of Plant Agriculture; and David Hume, agri-food and partnerships associate vice-president.
"When I first assumed the position of the chair of the Sakura Committee last year, I was delightfully surprised by the wide-ranging assistance the Sakura Project was receiving from the University of Guelph,” Koezuka said. “We are extremely pleased to be able to make this donation as an expression of our profound appreciation to the Department of Plant Agriculture, Ontario Agricultural College and its staff."
In honour of the gift, the trees are being used to create the Sakura “Friendship” Garden at the Vineland campus. They will be planted at different locations on the Vineland home farm, so that the Japanese government can be assured of a source of Sakura budwood.
For more information about the Sakura Project, visit the Web site
www.japancg-toronto.org.
Contact:
Deborah Hilborn
Ontario Agricultural College
Vineland Campus
(905) 562-4141, Ext. 124
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs, (519) 824-4120, Ext. 6982 or Ext. 3338.
