Posted on May 06, 2024
A small tree grown from the seed of a Gingko tree which survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 came to Vancouver with a Hiroshima survivor and a group of Japanese Rotarians for the Rotary Presidential Conference on Peace and Environmental Sustainability in February 2018. The group presented the sapling to then Rotary International President Ian Risely attending the conference from Australia (shown here). The Rotary group, including President Ian and District Peace Chair and Past District Governor John Anderson, then planted the tree right after the conference in Vancouver's VanDusen Gardens. Now, more than six years later, as Rotarian Kaz Kadono says, the tree, "stands as a living testament to our shared aspiration for a peaceful and nuclear-free world."
 
 
Sapling from seed of a Gingko tree which survived
the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, presented
to Rotary President Ian Risely
The sapling is planted in Vancouver's VanDusen
Gardens in February 2018
Rotary International President Ian Riseley, left,
looks on as the sapling is planted
A human survivor of the Hiroshima bombing
plants the tree
The Gingko tree today, thriving in VanDusen Gardens as a symbol of peace -- a main priority of
Rotary in the world