One of the trees along the Memorial Avenue of Trees at Woodlawn Cemetery will be removed after testing positive for Dutch Elm Disease.

The tree tested positive earlier in the week and will be removed immediately. The tree will be replaced after being removed.

The Memorial Avenue of Trees in Woodlawn Cemetery is meant to commemorate the men and women who had fallen during World War I. The particular tree being removed is in memory of, “The Officers of the Forever Scotland Camp.”

City Archivist Jeff O’Brien said,“It’s not simply a public memorial, but an intensely personal one — none of these men was ever coming home. There would be no grave here in Saskatoon for people to stand at, no place to put flowers on, but you could have a tree in Woodlawn Cemetery — growing in celebration of the specific person that had been lost.”

This isn’t the first time a tree has died or been replaced, as other trees have died from drought or other issues in the past.

The Memorial Avenue of Trees is considered a National Historic Site and Parks Canada has made aware of the pending removal.