The public will have one last chance to take part in the popular annual tree tour at Oak Ridge Cemetery on Saturday, Oct. 18. This year’s tour, from 1-4 p.m., will feature the Grand Valley, a rolling expanse at the south side of the cemetery. There are no graves due to the terrain, providing a unique opportunity to focus on nature and the distinctive trees in that area. Visitors will see and learn about pre-Civil War era native oaks and other noteworthy species. There will be kids’ activities and educational displays and demonstrations. This year’s tour is not to be missed, as it will be the last.
Guy Sternberg is the driving force behind the tree tour. He is an internationally known oak expert and co-owner of Starhill Forest Arboretum in Petersburg. Since 1994, he has propagated and donated more than 700 trees to Oak Ridge Cemetery. He and Pam VanAlstine organized the first tree tour in May 2014. This has grown over the years, with 45 dedicated volunteers making the event possible. Sternberg says this year’s Grand Valley Tree Tour and Eco Fair will be a grand finale. He is grateful for the dedicated team of individuals who have volunteered their services and the hundreds of faithful guests who come rain or shine to take part.
Thousands of trees grace the grounds of Oak Ridge Cemetery. Some can be traced back to Lincoln’s time and before. Hundreds of others were propagated by Sternberg from historic and rare trees from around the temperate world. Each year the tour focuses on a different area of the cemetery that has many notable trees plus a good set-up area and parking.
Similar to past years, visitors can walk at their own pace through a level area where volunteers will be stationed at 15 designated trees, providing a wealth of information. Along the path there will also be kids’ activities, displays by conservation organizations and information about volunteer efforts to restore Civil War gravestones. Visitors who are a bit more adventurous can opt to participate in a longer guided hike through the gently rolling hills of the Grand Valley where other trees will be highlighted.
Native oaks, hybrid oaks, hickory and linden trees are examples of trees on the tour. Bur oaks are majestic trees native to Illinois, and one on the tour pre-dates the founding of the cemetery in 1856. A unique tree to be featured is a hybrid oak, Quercus xsternbergii, named for Sternberg, founder of the International Oak Society.
The hybrid oak named for Sternberg occurs naturally in a narrow zone in Texas where Shumard oaks and Texan oaks overlap. Sternberg was the first to cultivate this hybrid from a seed, which he grew at his arboretum in Petersburg. The hybrid had no official name, and in 2001 Professor Reinhold Luebbert of Duesseldorf, Germany, proposed naming it for Sternberg. In 2006, the professor published it in his World Compendium of Oaks. It took until 2022 for the name to be made official.
VanAlstine has been involved with the tree tours since the beginning. While working at Lincoln’s Tomb in 2014, she learned about other major cemeteries hosting events unrelated to burials. A group of people interested in Oak Ridge Cemetery met to brainstorm ideas, which led to the idea for a tree tour. Sternberg was part of that group. They applied unsuccessfully for a grant, but were undeterred. The Victorian idea of Sunday afternoons in the cemetery, tending to graves and having a picnic, entered into the planning.
After many months of organizing, the first tree tour was held in the vicinity of Lincoln’s Tomb. VanAlstine and Sternberg credit the incredible volunteers who have devoted their time and energy over so many years.
“Showing off the cemetery has been my dream come true,” said VanAlstine. She says each tour has been so different, and the tours help to educate people about both trees and history.
Polly Poskin is one of the many longtime volunteers. Her desire to get involved came after hearing Sternberg talk years ago at Lincoln Memorial Garden about the importance of trees.
“Trees, Oak Ridge Cemetery and Guy are all local treasures,” said Poskin. “Guy is truly remarkable for what he has done for the historical and horticultural value of Oak Ridge through propagation and documentation of its trees. There are amazing, dedicated tree lovers who volunteer each year to expand his vision.”
The many complicated details required to organize the tour and coordinate volunteers have become too exhausting for Sternberg to continue, he said. Nevertheless, there are still lots of ways to enjoy the trees at Oak Ridge. Many trees are labeled with inventory numbers and detailed information about the trees is accessible online. Maps and specific trees from all of the past tree tours are also online, which can be used to take your own self-guided tour. For a donation of $75, a wide range of trees are available for adoption, which helps to fund tree maintenance, replacement and education. For more information, go to https://oakridgecemeterytrees.com/.
The tour will take place rain or shine. Enter the cemetery via J. David Jones Parkway or Monument Avenue and follow the signage.
“The tree tour has been a highlight of the Oak Ridge Cemetery Foundation, educating all ages and interests about the importance of trees and nature,” said Sue Massie, longtime tree tour volunteer and past president of the Oak Ridge Cemetery Foundation.
“This will be by far the greatest, most diverse tree tour we have done, so it’s probably a good finale,” said Sternberg.
Karen Ackerman Witter first met Guy Sternberg in 1978 when they worked together at the Department of Conservation. For nearly 40 years she has consulted Guy about caring for the Civil War-era oak tree in her yard, which Guy has also propagated.
This article appears in October 9-15, 2025.
I hope some person(s) or group could continue this interesting project.