Legacy is a word, an evolving and expansive idea, that comes up often in my work.
For some families, legacy is very clear.
It may be connected to an endowment, a profession, a body of work, a place, a community, a family tradition, or simply the way someone moved through the world.
Part of my work is considering how that legacy can be reflected in the details of the day, and what kind of support we can offer through Celebrations of Life Toronto.
At a recent celebration of life at Strachan Hall, University of Toronto, one of those details was tree sapling keepsakes.
The moment the family saw this offering during our planning meeting, they said, “Yes. This is him.”
They chose two varieties, white pine and balsam fir, and guests were invited to bring one home.
It is a favour you may recognize from weddings, but it feels almost more fitting in the memorial space as a keepsake.
Something tangible for family and friends to carry home. Something to plant in a backyard, at a cottage, or on a country property. Something they may watch grow over weeks, months, and years. And when they see it, they will remember the person for whom it was planted.
And of course, like all living things, a sapling has its own life.
Some will grow for many years.
Some may not take root.
Some may weather storms, develop disease, or change in ways we cannot predict.
That is part of the meaning too.
We can plant it with care and give it the best chance to thrive, but we cannot control what happens next.
To me, that does not diminish the symbol.
It deepens it.
The sapling is not a promise of permanence. It is an act of remembrance. A living gesture of love, planted in honour of someone whose life mattered.
We also love our recent partnership with Pineneedle Farms. Here in Toronto, many guests are condo dwellers and may not have a place to plant a sapling themselves. In those cases, Pineneedle Farms arranges for saplings that cannot be taken home to still be planted at a local conservatory a couple of hours north of the city.
The tree is still planted in honour of the person who died, and also in honour of the guest for whom it was intended.
Sometimes legacy is something we carry home.
Sometimes it is unseen, and we hope, still growing somewhere.
Still taking root.
Still having an effect.
I love how saplings extend the memory of the person being honoured.
- Diana Robinson
Founder & Memorial Event Planner
Celebrations of Life Toronto
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