Volunteers of two local commissions will plant four redbud trees at the Wyoming Veteran’s Memorial Garden for WWII and Korean War veterans (Courtesy, The City of Wyoming Historical Commission)
Only one evergreen tree (not pictured) currently remains to the east of the monument. With funding from the Greater Wyoming Community Resource Alliance, The Tree Amigos and Historical Commission plan to spruce up the memorial originally erected in 1945 at the intersection of Lee Street and Porter Street. Plantings adjacent to the monument will be updated in the spring.
(Courtesy, The City of Wyoming Historical Commission)
“The Wyoming Historical Commission is grateful to The Tree Amigos for beautifying the Wyoming Honor Roll Memorial dedicated to our veterans from Wyoming who served during WWII and the Korean Wars,” says Vicki Briggs, board member of The Historical Commission.
“This memorial was dedicated on May 30, 1945. The original plantings had been removed due to their age and now will be renewed.”
Tree dedication ceremony
A brief ceremony dedicating the trees and remembering the veterans named on the monument will take place at 12 p.m. on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11.
Representatives from the City of Wyoming and the Historical Commission will say a few words, along with American Legion Post 154 Post Commander Keith Wakefield. The Tree Amigos will also make an announcement about future projects.
“That’s so exciting, and I appreciate what Tree Amigos is doing to beautify the neighborhood,” says Kalene McElveen, owner of Tasteful Vegan Ice Cream Shop, a business adjacent to the planting site.
Local history
Boyce Slootmaker lied about his age to join the Navy at age 16 (Courtesy, Slootmaker family)
Among those named on the memorial are family members of The Tree Amigos chairperson, Estelle Slootmaker: Boyce Slootmaker (WWII), Howard Joyce (Korean War), and Clayton Burkholder (WWII).
Lieutenant Commander Roger B. Chaffee was added to the memorial in 1967. Born and raised in Wyoming, Chaffee died on Jan. 27, 1967 in the Apollo spacecraft flash fire during a launch pad test at Kennedy Space Center, FL.
In the fall of 2020, the Wyoming Tree Commission (The Tree Amigos), with volunteer helped planted trees in the Godfrey-Lee area. (Courtesy, Wyoming Tree Commission)
Whether it be the shade from a hot summer day to the colorful leaves dropping that add nature’s beauty in the fall, trees can provide a natural respite for a community as well as improve air and water quality.
However, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, underserved communities tend to have fewer trees than other city neighborhoods and local organizations working to add tree canopy to those areas can face unique challenges.
To help make a difference in one such area are three organizations, the City of Wyoming Tree Commission – The Tree Amigos, the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, and ReLeaf Michigan. Tuesday, May 23, the groups will come together to plant 20 trees at the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center, 961 Joosten St. SW, to plant 20 trees. Volunteers also are being sought to help with the project.
Building Shade Equity
“We are working in Godfrey Lee for two reasons,” said Estelle Slootmaker, who is a member and founder of Tree Commission (The Tree Amigos), which noted the group has planted trees in the Godfrey-Lee district in the past. “The area’s canopy has been disastrously decreased by storms and development.
“The neighborhood, like many U.S. neighborhoods experiencing income challenges, lacks shade equity. Shaded neighborhoods promote mental health, reduce crime, have cleaner air with less asthma and other breathing conditions, and higher property values.”
The other reason the commission has selected the Godfrey-Lee area was because of the advocacy of volunteers Susan VanBronkhorst and Rosemary Davis, who have advocated for planting in the neighborhood, and because of Godfrey-Lee science teacher Deb Truszkowski, who has been working to get The Tree Amigos active with the district.
Truszkowski said it was a National Geographic article that raised her awareness for the lack of tree canopies in underserved areas. She teaches a world disasters course at the high school which focuses on climate change.
“We are currently looking into areas that lack tree canopies and how that affects a community,” Truszkowski said, adding the classes have been discussing how redlining, where lenders refused loans to people living in a certain area, impacted a neighborhood and its environment, such as parks, green space and trees.
Students from two of Truszkowski’s classes will participate in the planting along with talking to volunteers and learning from ReLeaf Michigan.
Volunteer Opportunities
ReLeaf Michigan, a 35-year-old non-profit organization, partners with communities statewide to replenish community tree canopies through volunteer tree planting events. In 2022, the DTE Foundation granted $350,000 to ReLeaf for tree plantings in communities throughout the state.
Slootmaker said ReLeaf is providing the 20 trees and the organization’s forester helped select the planting sites. On planting day, ReLeaf representatives will be there to provide instruction and supervise the plantings.
“They will be providing information on the proper way to plant and for the trees,” Slootmacher said, adding it is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to learn more about planting and green spaces.
Those interested in volunteering — no planting experience is necessary — should wear closed-toe shoes and comfortable clothing and bring a shovel, hard rake, and work gloves if they have them. The group will meet at Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center located, 961 Joosten St. SW, at 8:45 a.m. to sign in, enjoy refreshments, and watch a planting demonstration with ReLeaf Michigan’s tree experts.The event occurs rain or shine.
Jim Park shares is passion for the environment at a 2019 Arbor Day celebration with Kelloggsville students. The event was hosted by the Wyoming Tree Commission/The Tree Amigos. (Supplied)
“He was a person who cared,” is how many would describe longtime Wyoming resident Jim Ward.
Ward died in October at the age of 71, but left a legacy that impacted both the community he lived in, Wyoming, and the school his children attended, Kelloggsville Public Schools. This Thursday, April 28, Ward will be honored for his contributions to the City of Wyoming in a special Arbor Day celebration at Kelloggsville High School, 4787 S. Division Ave. The program, which will include the planting of an oak tree, is set for 10 a.m.
“Some people would see something that wasn’t right and would say ‘Isn’t this horrible,’ and that would be it,” said Ward’s wife, Jane. “Jim would see it and say ‘There has to be something we could do,’ and then it would be let’s see who we can get to help.”
It was in 2014 at a National Night Out neighborhood event that Ward would meet Estelle Slootmaker, who along with Ward and Greg Bryan founded the Wyoming Tree Commission or The Tree Amigos.
“I was concerned about the health of our oak trees because of the spongy moth infestation so I got permission to set up a table with information on caring for our oak trees,” Slootmaker said of the National Night Out event. “Jim and Jane approached me and chatted with me as did Greg Bryan.
“I was so tickled pink to find other tree huggers in my neighborhood.”
That chance meeting would lead to Slootmaker getting a phone call from Bryan asking her to meet with him and Ward and thus The Tree Amigos was born. A couple of years later, the Wyoming City Council would officially establish the group as the Wyoming Tree Commission.
The goal of the group over the years has been to improve the tree canopy in the City of Wyoming along with getting a Tree City USA designation and through Ward’s dedication the Commission has accomplished many of those goals, according to Slootmaker.
Jim Ward
“Jim was our mighty oak,” Slootmaker said. “He was there to plant the idea of a tree commission when our little group of neighbors first met – and he was integral to every project we completed. We miss him so very much.”
Jane Ward said her husband always had cared about the environment and was instrumental in getting an Earth Day committee going at their church.
A Godwin Heights graduate, Ward also was active on the neighborhood watch and involved in the teacher union at Forest Hills, where he served as the first media specialist at Forest Hills Northern High School. Along with his environmental passion, Ward had a passion for education and children, serving as the Quiz Bowl team coach and advising the National Honor Society.
That passion was not only reserved to Forest Hills, where Ward taught, but also to Kelloggsville, where his daughters had attended.
“He cared about the kids and the community,” Jane Ward said. “He saw a need and tried to do something and get things done.”
Scheduled to be in attendance for Thursday’s program will be Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll, Kelloggsville High School Principal Jim Alston, Kelloggsville High School student groups, and The Tree Amigos/City of Wyoming Tree Commission. The program is free and open to the public.
The City of Wyoming Tree Commission, “The Tree Amigos,” planted 20 trees with funds from a DTE Foundation grant administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The original spring planting dates were moved to fall due to COVID-19.
On Sept. 26, seven trees were planted in the Godfrey-Lee neighborhood in parkways in front of residents’ homes. On Oct. 10, another seven trees will be planted in the neighborhood and eight trees in Oriole Park, where many trees have had to be removed. Each tree represents a $500 investment. Excavation and permitting are being provided by the City of Wyoming. In addition to the Tree Amigos volunteers, five youth volunteers from Lee High School National Honor Society are helping with the plantings this fall.
Community members and students from Wyoming Lee High School have worked to add more trees to the Godfrey Lee neighborhood. (Courtesy photo by Tree Amigos)
The Tree Amigos have focused on the Godfrey Lee neighborhood the past two years because it has lost many trees to storms and development. On Arbor Day 2019, Wyoming Lee High School Ecology Club joined the Tree Amigos for the City’s 2019 Arbor Day Ceremony. To open the event, members of the Club planted two tulip trees on school property bordering Lee Street. The trees were provided by The Tree Amigos.
“We absolutely have some areas that need this resource,” said Vlad Borza, a Lee High School teacher who leads the Ecology Club. “I actually worked on a project just last year with high school ecology students to identify this very need.
“Due to disease and windfall, several of the trees along the (school’s) front parking area and along the side had to be removed in recent years. We would love to re-populate this area with some preferably native trees that can begin to complete the void left behind by these removals.”
The Friends of Grand Rapids Parks has also noted the need for increasing tree canopy in this area where Wyoming and Grand Rapids share a boundary. This City of Grand Rapids organization has been a helpful resource for The Tree Amigos. Its Urban Forest Project also offer resources and tree education classes, which are open to Wyoming residents.
“There is no arguing the significant environmental and economic benefits that trees bring to our communities,” said Lauren Davis, urban forest coordinator for the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and who serves as The Tree Amigos volunteer consulting certified arborist. “As we continue to lose mature trees from natural causes and development, the need to plant new trees has never been greater.”
The Tree Amigos also added six fruit trees to the City of Wyoming Tree Commission’s Beverly Bryant Community Orchard at West Elementary this fall.
For more information about The Tree Amigos, visit the organization’s Facebook page.
The Tree Amigos and area residents will be out again on Oct. 10 to plant more trees. (Courtesy Photo by Tree Amigos)
The City of Wyoming Tree Commission accepts the city’s new Tree USA designation at the Tree City Awards in Lansing earlier this month.
The Arbor Day Foundation named The City of Wyoming a 2016 Tree City USA in honor of its commitment to effective urban forest management. Wyoming achieved Tree City USA recognition by meeting the program’s four requirements: a tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
“Tree City USA communities see the impact an urban forest has in a community firsthand,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Additionally, recognition brings residents together and creates a sense of community pride, whether it’s through volunteer engagement or public education.”
Wyoming began its quest to attain Tree City USA status in February 2016 when a group of committed residents formed The Tree Amigos. Wyoming commissioners voted in July 2016 to formally establish them as the Wyoming Tree Commission. The Tree Amigos are celebrating Arbor Day 2017 with three events:
Arbor Day Tree Planting and Proclamation by Mayor Jack Poll at City Hall, 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 20. DeHamer Brothers Landscaping has donated a ten-foot tall serviceberry tree to commemorate this very special occasion.
Arbor Day Tree Education event with 60 Kellogsville students at Ideal Park, 5843 Crippen Ave SW, 49548 at 1 p.m. Friday, April 28. In addition to educational activities, the Kelloggsville Pep Band will play. The Tree Amigos will present each student a blue spruce sapling – and careful directions for its care.
Presentation of Tree City USA Award and flag to Wyoming City Council at City Hall, 7 p.m. Monday, May 1. The Tree Amigos will make a five-minute presentation and update to the City council.
Trees provide multiple benefits to a community when properly planted and maintained. They improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood, increase property values, reduce home energy costs, remove air pollutants and provide wildlife habitat, among many other benefits.
The Wyoming Tree Commission, nick-named The Tree Amigos, seeks to develop and promote programs that maintain and improve Wyoming’s tree assets in our city’s public and private properties. We strive to foster a healthy, species-diverse tree canopy that meets or exceeds coverage percentages suggested by the Michigan DNR, U.S. Forest Service and National Association of State Foresters.
