Rejuvenating the "Avenue of Elms"

Plans are now in place for the Transformation of Chancellor Matheson Boulevard project, which will rejuvenate the entrance to the Fort Garry campus, known as the "Avenue of Elms," through earth berming, planting, lighting and the construction of a pedestrian and bicycle path. Funding for the project was provided primarily through the Canadian Millennium Projects Fund and other donations.

In all, 12,000 new trees and shrubs of various kinds are being planted, as well as hundreds of colourful annuals, perennials and flowering shrubs.

The "Avenue of Elms" is where memorial elm trees were planted between 1918 and 1922 by students in the School of Home Economics, then a part of the Manitoba Agriculture College, in memory of fellow students who died during the war. Over the decades, many of the elms deteriorated or died from winter salt spray and soil contamination.

The rejuvenation project's goal is to demonstrate a vision of sustainable environmental landscape design in the community, as well as to honour the names of those who laid down their lives for Canada in both World Wars and in the Korean War. Two memorial plaques dedicated to these individuals are placed just inside the gates.