Trees illuminated in Victoria Park are something Londoners only see in December, but as a special tribute to nurses working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is one tree shining brightly this spring.
The City of London has decked out a tree near Wellington Street and Wolfe Street with blue lights and a sign that declares 2020 as the "year of the nurse." It also offers thanks to all front-line workers.
"It's a very simple gesture," said Scott Stafford, the city's managing director of parks and recreation. "It is never enough, but we thought it would be a nice gesture to support the nurses working in hospitals, long-term care homes, and other health-care facilities."
The idea to string the lights on a tree in the downtown park came from within the parks department, which already had the lights on hand from the annual Christmas display.
"We reached out to Dave Evans, the person who has been instrumental in doing the lights for us at Christmas for the past ten years, and told him what we wanted to do. He thought it was a great gesture so he volunteered his time and the use of his bucket truck to get the lights in place," said Stafford.
It took Evans and one of his workers just a few hours to get the lights up and the switched was flipped on the tree earlier this week.
"There has been some positive comments along the way. As people see the tree they have said it is a nice way to support our front-line workers," added Stafford.
The tree will continue to be illuminated nightly for the next couple of weeks.
