Commemorative Tree — Nicole Cooney

Hello everyone. Ian, Nicole’s brother, here.

As we approach the anniversary of Nicole's death, it will inevitably be a hard time for my mom, Heather Wilson. To make the occasion more of a celebration of a life lived, rather than a mourning period, I would love to do something in my sister’s honour.

The City of Edmonton has a Commemorative Tree Program, where they allow citizens of Edmonton to pay tribute to a person by purchasing an installation of a tree in a public park with a plaque.

However, there is a cost associated. The tree costs $1,600, which includes:

— 1 tree - minimum size 50mm caliper. If your tree dies, we will replace it at our cost.
— 1 plaque and pedestal - wording chosen by you. If your plaque or pedestal gets damaged, it can be replaced at your cost.

You can read more about the program here: Commemorative Trees
The park we’ve chosen is Onion Park, which is near Grand Trunk on the North end of Edmonton. It’s close to where we grew up and is across the street from where we both went to Junior High. It’s also the park that my mom took our first dog, Rex, to and who also passed away recently.

For the tree, we've chosen the Thunderchild Crabapple. The bubble gum pink flowers are almost identical to the tree that we have outside our house, which I know my mom loves.

Any money we receive over and above the $1,600 will go towards paying off the debt my mother incurred due to the funeral.

Doing this for her would go a long way in helping my mom deal with Nicole’s death and will give her a place to visit while she’s out with the dogs — a place that isn’t inherently filled with grief, but rather something that can grow and mature in Nicole’s place. 

If you have any questions about the tree, feel free to reach out to me.