Once a year history comes alive at Beechwood Cemetery

Beechwood Cemetery held it's annual historical tour Sunday, offering visitors a chance to connect with the past through a living library.

During the event, actors from Ottawa School of Theatre portray notable people from the past, giving visitors an opportunity to learn firsthand about some incredible people and how they shaped our countries history.

Beechwood Cemetery held it's annual historical tour Sunday, offering visitors a chance to connect with the past through a living library. During the event, actors from Ottawa School of Theatre portray notable people from the past, giving visitors an opportunity to learn firsthand about some incredible people and how they shaped our countries history.

Nick McCarthy, the director of marketing and communications for Beechwood Cemetery, says the partnership helps the 150-year-old institution deepen its connection with the community. "We have all these stories that are shared, and I think that people view us not only as a place that give excellent services for funerals and burial services, but also a place of story and a place they come to learn," McCarthy said. "Beechwood is a place where we have 87 thousand stories that we share."

This year's focus was the environment, celebrating four Canadians who have had a local and global impact on how we see and care for our word. Faith Fyles, was the first botanical artist with the federal government's Department of Agriculture. James Bernard Harkin, is known as the father of national parks, he was a Canadian journalist turned bureaucrat with a passion for conservation. James William Macneill, was secretary general of the World Commission on Environment and Development and the principal author of the world-acclaimed report "Our Common Future." The report recommended what became the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio, the Earth Summit.

Beechwood Cemetery is known as Canada’s National Cemetery. It is the resting place of many prominent residents.