NORTHVILLIAN
This week, we will touch on Earth Day (4/22) along with Arbor Day (4/24) activities in the Northville area, where we encourage individuals to plant trees for the benefit of our society. Fittingly, this past weekend there was a Cemetery Renewal Task Force clean-up crew headed up by Chair David Marold (who also has organized prior cleanups of both the Oakwood and Rural Hill Cemeteries with their plethora of trees). If you have a group that would like to assist in the future please contact me directly.
In my letter today I would like to reflect on our local historical conservation efforts, including initiatives such as caring for our prize-winning trees, aided by our Northville Tree Champions organization. Many citizens don’t realize that we are a Tree City USA community, and we have had State and National Champion trees throughout our 200-year history.
Here’s a quick look at Earth Day and Arbor Day History…
- «Arbor Day is April 24th and is an observance day during which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant & care for trees. Countries worldwide celebrate this special day, too. Notably, as early as 1892, The Northville Record printed an Arbor Day Proclamation from our Governor at the time (Edwin B. Winans) encouraging all Michiganders to plant a tree.
- «Earth Day is an annual global event established to inspire support for environmental stewardship. First held on April 22, 1970 (56 years ago), it now includes a wide range of events coordinated worldwide. More than 1 billion people in over 200 countries have participated in Earth Day celebrations. The official theme for 2026 is “Our Power, Our Planet.”
Before looking at Northville Arbor / Earth Day activities, let’s see what’s going on today:
Activities around town: e
TASK FORCE MEETINGS
- Bicentennial Task Force Mtg – 5/6/26, 7PM City Hall (Rick Sharpe – Chair)
- Cemetery Renewal Task Force – 5/11/26, 7PM City Hall (Dave Marold – Chair)
HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHVILLE’S EARTH & ARBOR DAYS:
The Arbor Day Foundation has awarded the City of Northville the great distinction of being a “Tree City USA” community… five years running now. We have more than 3,100 trees on city property, not including our parks. Our Northville Tree Champions group promotes tree appreciation, growth, and preservation. Recently we added 1400 hardwood trees along the banks of the recently daylighted river section of our River Park which we will be dedicating on June 17 at 11:00 AM.
As we celebrate Earth Day/Arbor Day, I want to recognize our City’s Sustainability Team (Kathy Spillane – Chair). They’ve accomplished a great deal over the past few years in support of a “More Sustainable Northville.” … just a few of their achievements:
- Established the Northville Tree Champions Group (Jim Porterfield – Chair) to focus on the care and enhancement of our TREE Canopy.
- Completed a comprehensive overall Walkability Study for the City & its Trees.
- In partnership with the Riverwalk Task Force (Nancy Darga – Chair), developed a Mobility Network Study analyzing the flow & safety of our city streets in harmony with our historic trees.
- Worked with the DDA TEAM (Shawn Riley – Chair/Kate Knight – Dir.) to implement additional EV Charging Stations & transition to more efficient Downtown LED Lighting.
Legacy Tree locations have been identified by the group, and a comprehensive tree database has been built. See Majestic Tree Tour: Link . Some standouts are:
- The Black Walnut on Rogers which is about 189 inches around (over 15 Feet)
- On W. Cady Street, there is a grand Sycamore and 200-year-old Oaks in Oakwood Cemetery. We also have a magnificent Elm behind City Hall which has been transformed into a history tree carving commissioned by the Northville Community Support Fund. Link
- The beautiful majestic White Oak on Main Street
- A resplendent Silver Maple on Eaton Drive with a girth of almost 224 inches (16+ feet)
- Fish Hatchery Park – I encourage you to walk about the “native-to-Michigan” plants & trees on the river’s edge and experience the rejuvenation of this area. All this was made possible through a cooperative grant bestowed on the City & Township. Look for trout in this spring-fed, cold-water stream.
- In 1960, Jack Hoffman (Editor of The Record) mentioned that the Northville/Novi area was known for its old growth trees. At that time, Northville had National Champion Trees and many State Champions.
- Other local trees of note – the Scotch Pines in Northville’s Cass Benton Park, the giant White Oak in front of Guernsey’s on Novi Rd and the Beech Trees at Maybury State Park.
- The Bennett Arboretum (oldest in the State), located in Wayne County’s Hines Park between Six & Seven Mile, was established in the 1930’s and still has over 100 of the original 470 specimen trees remaining. It’s a gem in our own back yard.
- Northville Parks & Rec has over 750 acres of land filled with trees. Recently, Legacy Park has been brought to life, and we anticipate the award-winning River Park ribbon cutting on June 17. The park offers miles of pathways wrapped around over 1400 trees and two rivers on the grounds.
I encourage you on your next walk to envision what these landmark trees have seen in their time – from Northville’s birth as one of the first milling communities in the State in the 1820’s to a century later when Northville was ranked #2 in production and GNP in Michigan.
Today, we are establishing additional parks for everyone’s recreation and enjoyment. Experience all that nature has to offer at the multiple greenspaces around the Ville. Henry Ford, with wife Clara, loved Northville so much they walked the banks of our rivers lined with willows on their honeymoon in the 1880s.
Our entire 200-year history of Northville has evolved as our seedlings became mature legacy trees through the passage of time. As the weather breaks, take time to truly enjoy the greenspaces, waterways, and unique topography of this “Hamlet in the Hills” or “Switzerland of Wayne County” we call Northville.
Keep that Northville Earth Day and Arbor Day Faith!
Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville