A Norway maple in Riverdale Park East that withstood the worst of Mother Nature for more than 80 years was no match for a recent “clerical error” at city hall.

The “old girl” was the Star’s choice for our Tree Project last year, a series of stories, photos and videos that tracked what happened to one damaged tree in the wake of the catastrophic ice storm of December 2013. Photographer Carlos Osorio and I followed the Norway’s progress from spring until late fall and planned to pick up the story again this spring when leaves begin to bud.

But on a freezing day in early February, contractors arrived and chopped the massive tree down. They left a stump in the snow and branches and other debris strewn down the embankment towards the Don Valley below.

It was a mistake, a “clerical error,” according to city spokesperson Nancy MacSween.

“We sincerely apologize for the error.”

Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher (open Paula Fletcher's policard) wants answers. She represents Ward 30, which includes Riverdale Park East and says: “This is sad. Obviously there’s been a big disconnect and it’s very unfortunate. It seems like the city doesn’t care about our trees.”

A devastated Rita-Anne Piquet, who painted the Norway maple last year, contacted us March 17. She took solace from the old Norway during her long and arduous treatment for cancer.

For her, the tree was the embodiment of survival, and she doubted the Norway was really gone. She wrote in an email: “Let me know if I’m mixed up. Or if, indeed, our old friend has departed.”

She wasn’t wrong.

At first, nobody at the city’s parks, forestry and recreation division had answers. Most managers were away for March break last week, and a spokesperson said a computer check showed no record of a work crew cutting down the maple.

Then MacSween, acting manager, public relations and issues management for parks, forestry and recreation, emailed to say it shouldn’t have been cut down. Apparently the tree was marked for removal by a city arborist in September 2013 due to “its state of decline” and a work order issued.

When the Star approached the city in April 2014 on our proposed project, MacSween wrote: “We agreed to prune the tree to make it safe and work with the mature tree.”

The work order was rescinded and the service request cancelled.

“Unfortunately due to a clerical error, a copy of the work order remained in circulation and this led to the tree’s removal on Feb. 6, 2015,” she wrote. “We are currently reworking our processes to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

At the beginning of our tree project in April 2014, the Star contacted Richard Ubbens, acting general manager for parks, forestry and recreation. He said the city favours indigenous trees (the Norway maple, Acerplatanoides, is European) and suggested we concentrate on nearby silver maples instead.

But there was something about the Norway that stood in the park, across from the Rooster Coffee House on Broadview Ave. It wasn’t the prettiest tree we found in our search but it captivated us with its spirit, sense of timelessness and rugged majesty.

Trees are guardians of memory, and a home for birds, small mammals and insects. This tree, with its striated back and massive limbs, clearly had a rich past.

We knew it had lost one-third of its canopy in the ice storm but we wanted a badly damaged tree in order to (hopefully) tell a story of survival.

Ubbens said he would go along with our choice as long the Norway passed inspection. He sent out a crew, which reported back that there was extensive storm damage but no disease. There was never any mention the tree had been slated for destruction.

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A pruning crew, led by forestry chief Mark Phillips, arrived early one morning, and five hours and 55 cuts later another third of the great tree’s canopy was gone.

Phillips gave the tree a 60-70 per cent chance of survival and Star readers began to notice and root for our Norway maple. They posted comments, emailed, wrote cards and telephoned to ask about progress. Some sent their own photos and Piquet came to the tree with her easel.

“Something just doesn’t jive here. It doesn’t add up,” Fletcher said Thursday from Riverdale Park East. “I’m just sitting here looking at the stump. They left a mess.”

She says she’s taking the matter to council and wants more information, including the name of the private contractor who signed off on the city’s decision to cut down the tree and how a work order could sit around for 18 months.

“Does the city still use pen and paper?” asked Fletcher. She also wonders how the city’s forestry and parks division could be unaware of an extensive media campaign involving one of its trees.

Piquet — who is recovering from her latest surgery and optimistic about a positive outcome — says of the maple: “This is like a surgeon saying, ‘oops, we removed the wrong leg.’ ”