Tag: preservation
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It seems like an odd question. Most of us share a common understanding: to keep something in its current state or protect it from harm. If you’ve been following recent posts here or city communications, you may know the Riverland Park parcel on North Van Dyke is coming back before the Sterling Heights City Council,…
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On August 12, 2026, the Chaldean Community Foundation and Sterling Heights Planning Department presented a revised development proposal. It covers the Riverland Park property on North Van Dyke Avenue. The Planning Commission subsequently approved the revised proposal. The City has posted the August 12 meeting materials. This revised plan designates the landmark chinquapin oak, Tree…
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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…
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The Sterling Oak is still standing.Still rooted.Still waiting. And it is not waiting alone. Surrounding it are other landmark trees — quieter, less well known, but no less a part of the landscape — all tied to the same uncertain fate. Years after their future first came into question, nothing has been fully decided —…
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Tree Canopy US is a canopy data project of the Arbor Day Foundation (founders of TreeCity® designations), the US Forest Service, and PlantITGeo. It states its goals as helping communities understand their tree canopy data and “understand how well plans and projects are working.” It only measures trees over 10-15 feet high, or otherwise relatively…
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When this site started, the simple premise was to provide additional information for context and understanding beyond what the initial reporting on the threat to this old tree could offer. People wanted more information, and for many, seeing it in a local paper was the first time they learned the City had a tree older…
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There is a lot to consider regarding the fate of the Sterling Oak and the issues surrounding the development of the surrounding property. It isn’t a unique story to our area – an old tree vs. it being in the way of some other objective. Sometimes the priorities align or a compromise is made, and…
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Sterling Heights ARPA Riverland Park Property development for Chaldean Community Foundation Development LLC apartments is examined.
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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…
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Thanks to thousands of residents of Sterling Heights and beyond, our historic tree has many voices behind it. Centuries-old trees should not be considered disposable. They are irreplaceable. (Wordcloud created to represent the keywords of your petition comments, feel free to copy/share) The voices are growing louder everyday! Please keep spreading the word. Thank you!
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It matters not if you are religious, not religious, a person of faith of any kind, or somewhere in between; there can be no denying Pope Francis’ influence on and importance to millions of people and organizations worldwide. Notably, he recognized the worldwide problem we face with the ongoing destruction of nature, the courage it…
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The large Chinkapin Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii) in Sterling Heights on Van Dyke has some giant cousins in Southern Michigan – all here long before the cities, development projects, and coming and going of government officials and numerous administrations. All in all, they have endured despite the continued threats against them because somebody, somewhere, prioritized their…
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In an earlier post, we shared James Vukelich’s lessons from the Ojibwe people and their language on how to speak about trees, learning the Ojibwe word ‘Mitig.‘ He discussed how the word is an animate noun used in a context similar to referring to a relative. This grammatical pattern is central to the workings of…
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On February 14, 2025, journalist Andy Kozlowski of C&G Newspapers published a follow-up story to his original one in January about the centuries-old Chinquapin oak tree in Sterling Heights, Michigan. It began to hit resident’s mailboxes on February 20, 2025, in the print edition. After being contacted by many residents, Kozlowski made their voices known…