It has seen the First Nations people enhance the surrounding environment.

It witnessed the United States’ Revolutionary War, the destruction caused by the War of 1812, the global conflagration of both world wars, the transformation of the Niagara greenfields into ribbons of concrete and it has stood silently but majestically as the area’s land continues to be productive and bountiful.

On Saturday, the 400-plus-year-old white oak that has spread its large canopy on the front yard of Lepp Farms at 1300 Lakeshore Rd. was named the winner of the 2025 Ontario Tree Pageant award.

Ontario Tree Trust, an environmental heritage organization, nominated the tree.

This is the second year of the contest. The inaugural pageant winner in 2024 was the great white oak tree standing in front of Royal On

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