Nobleton Notes
Horticultural icon is remembered
By Angie Maccarone (905) 859-5174
St. Paul's Presbyterian

Church

The Food Bank and Clothing Circle will be open this Saturday (July 29) from 9 until 11 a.m.

This coming Sunday (July 30), Rev. Shawn Kennedy (chaplain at Woodbine Racetrack) will be leading us in worship. Join us at 9:45 a.m. for the service. Sunday school for adults only follows the service at 11 a.m. There is no Sunday school for children during the summer.

For information on any of our events, contact the church office at (905) 8590843.

Horticulture

Submitted by

Hans Nielsen

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trades winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Mark Twain)

On Christmas Day, 2005, Ontario lost a horticultural icon.

Dubbed "Mr. Arboretum" for almost 25 years until he was diagnosed with cancer in July 2004. Henry Kock was a long-time fixture in Guelph. In the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, he toured the province with his talks and slide shows, including before the Nobleton and King City Horticultural Society, inspiring countless people to protect wild places, to propagate native plant species and to liberate their gardens from pesticides.

Drawn to a landscape filled with sturdy, individual elm trees that had managed to resist the ravages Dutch elm disease, Henry created the Elm Recovery Project, which will be his greatest legacy. He traversed Ontario, collecting seeds from surviving elms. He planted and tended young elms for eventual dissemination back into the landscape.

Henry received the Governor General's Award for Forest Stewardship in 1998.

After Henry's diagnosis, he enjoyed 16 months of relative robust health. Despite being on chemotherapy, he was able to bike, hike and go on canoe trips. Henry had completed the first draft of a book on growing native trees front seed. Several of his botany colleagues now hope to complete this project.

One of the last things he did last fall was to mount an old, decorated bicycle on the wall at the front of the house, a fitting symbol of how he stepped lightly on the planet.

A tree will be planted in memory of Henry Kock in the Wall-Custance Memorial Forests, University of Guelph and Arboretum. The dedication service will be held Sept. 24 at 2:30 p.m.

The Nobleton/King Society has made a donation to the memorial fund on behalf of the members.

Visit the Web site at www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum