The City of St. Catharines offers a Memorial Tree Planting Program and Memorial Bench Program as a way for donors to leave lasting memories of loved ones in the city.
Memorial Tree Planting Program
Our Memorial Tree Planting Program allows you to plant a living memorial of a loved one in a pre-approved municipal park or greenspace. It also provides you, your friends and family with the opportunity to contribute toward the greening of St. Catharines.
Apply for a memorial tree
Complete our Memorial Tree Program Request Form to apply for your choice of location, tree type and plaque wording. You can browse a list of memorial trees available.
Please submit your form no later than April 1 for a spring planting, or Sept. 1 for a fall planting. If your form is late, we will defer it to the next planting season.
Ineligible locations
We are no longer planting memorial trees alongside or at the following locations:
- Waterfront trails
- Westcliffe Park *limited availability at sole discretion of staff
- Wright Brothers' Park
- Spring Gardens Park
- Sunset Beach *temporarily due to construction
- Lakeside Park
- Happy Rolph's Animal Farm *limited availability at designated locations
- George Nicholson Memorial Trail
Memorial Bench Program
Our Memorial Bench Program allows you the opportunity to pay tribute to a person(s) or occasion by donating a bench to be installed at a public park or along a public walkway. Benches are installed on 10-year terms.
To keep bench styles consistent throughout the City, the styles of benches listed on the form are pre-set for designated areas. Below is a list of the bench style and the area/park it may pertain to:
- Parkway Style: Any standard City park or greenspace (including the Welland Canal Parkway and Jaycee Park)
- Port Dalhousie Style: Any Port Dalhousie Park, beach or waterfront area.
- Elizabethan Style: Montebello Park
- Maglin Style: Downtown streetscape, cenotaph or formal parkette.
Staff are happy to discuss the bench options and provide photos of the benches and plaque style upon request.
Apply for a memorial bench
Complete our Memorial Bench Request Form to apply for your choice of location, bench type and plaque wording.
You can submit your form at any time throughout the year. Our bench installations occur from spring through fall. If you would like your bench to be installed before the end of the year, please submit it no later than Sept. 1.
Ineligible locations
We are no longer installing memorial benches alongside or at the following locations:
- Port Dalhousie - Lakeside Park
- Port Dalhousie - Piers
- Port Dalhousie - Lakefront Park
- Port Dalhousie - waterfront lookouts between Lock St. and Courtleigh Rd.
- Waterfront trails
- Westcliffe Park *limited availability at sole discretion of staff
- Wright Brothers' Park
- Sunset Beach *temporarily, due to construction
- Spring Gardens Park
- Rennie Park* temporarily, due to construction
- Montebello Park
- Happy Rolph's Animal Farm *limited availability at designated locations