A conversation beneath the Sterling Oak in Sterling Heights, Michigan It’s the hottest afternoon of the year so far, and I’m sitting in the deepest shade I can find along this part of North Van Dyke. Under the Sterling Oak, my senses quickly take everything in. The bark feels thick and worn, like armor covering…
The US is fortunate to have a group of ten federal agencies, called Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium, that coordinate land cover information and imagery provided by the Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 satellites. They collaborate to create the National Land Cover Database (NLCD), where the primary objective is stated as: The primary objective of…
The following article appears in the Spring 2025 newsletter of the Michigan Botanical Society Southeastern Chapter about the Sterling Oak, published June 02, 2025. It is also being republished with permission here. The Story of the Sterling Oak Becoming part of the MBS Big Tree Program submitted by Mark Graf In 1799, William Blake wrote…
As our cherished oak gathers energy from the longer days of sunshine to prepare for spring buds, our timeline has been updated with some events from the past few weeks. They highlight the continuing long, curvy road in our efforts to preserve it, even as obstacles are thrown our way. These events have been added…