PHOTO CREDIT: Starhill Forest Arboretum.
by Don Corrigan
The term “Post Oak” means different things to different people:
• To Virginians, Post Oak is an unincorporated community in Spotsylvania.
• To folks in western Missouri, Post Oak is a community in Johnson County.
• To Texans in the city of Houston, Post Oak is a mixed-use skyscraper.
• To folks in East Texas, Post Oak is a shopping mall in College Station.
For citizens in Missouri’s Greentree City of Kirkwood, a post oak is a tree, but no ordinary tree. On March 1, the post oak will be officially and most definitively declared “Kirkwood Tree of the Year 2025.”
The post oak tree program is from 10 a.m. to noon at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center at 210 E. Monroe Ave. Visitors can consult with tree specialists and forestry experts at information tables.
“My goal for the March 1 event is to build enthusiasm among Kirkwood residents to plant more trees,” said Kirkwood Mayor Liz Gibbons. “As everyone can see, we have been losing some tree canopy in the city.
“Holding an event to highlight the ‘Kirkwood Tree of the Year,’ and to inform citizens on the advantages of a fuller canopy, should get us to the goal of replacing lost tree canopy.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Starhill Forest Arboretum.
Gibbons special “green vision” tree talk will be preceded by a welcome and introduction by Mike Hankins, chair of the Kirkwood Urban Forestry Commission. Hankins said the post oak has been the signature tree for Kirkwood.
“The Post Oak is an excellent tree for the inaugural year of this program,” said Hankins. “It’s a slow-growing tree and can take 25 years to produce acorns. It grows up to 50 feet. It’s a sturdy tree – it is called post oak because its durable wood has been used for fence posts.
“Kirkwood has been designated as a Tree City USA for 34 years,” added Hankins. “On average, 125 trees are removed annually from the city right-of-way due to disease or hazards.”
According to Hankins, large numbers of trees are also removed for private development. He said the March 1 event emphasizes the importance of planting new trees to maintain Kirkwood’s urban forest.
“Trees provide so many benefits” Hankins said. “They provide habitat, erosion control, and they insulate our homes. Trees are beautiful – fun to plant and watch grow. They’re good for the soul. Walking down a tree-lined street relieves stress.”
The post oak was selected for the tree honor by a task force composed of Hankins, Mark Grueber, Pete Laufersweiler, Jerry Pence, Kathy Paulsen, Bill Ruppert, Kent Theiling, Brandon Sly, with ex-officio members Gina Jaksetic and Liz Gibbons.
Top Tree Scholar
The highlight of the March program, “Kirkwood Tree of the Year 2025,” will be a keystone speech by eminent tree scholar, Guy Sternberg, a noted arborist of Springfield, Illinois.
Sternberg is no sapling when it comes to tree knowledge. He is co-founder of Starhill Forest Arboretum of Illinois College near Springfield, Illinois. He also is founding president of the International Oak Society.
Sternberg will emphasize how the post oak is long-lived, medium-sized, strong-wooded, beautifully fall-colored, good for wildlife, and an impervious to droughts kind of tree. At home in Kirkwood, the post oak tree is found spontaneously in numerous parts of the community.
“We will be discussing the multiple values of the post oak and learning about some other species that could be considered as ‘top trees’ for future years,” said Sternberg in a preview of his talk. “Tree diversity and climate adaptation will be featured as well.”
Mayor Gibbons said Sternberg was the ideal ambassador for the post oak, which is the perfect specimen for the inaugural “Tree of the Year.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Starhill Forest Arboretum.
“It is a heritage tree, thriving here in large numbers, long before Kirkwood was founded,” said Gibbons. “Post oaks were here naturally, not purposely planted. That is why there are so many of these mighty trees around Kirkwood today.”
Springfield’s Sternberg is an ISA-Certified Arborist. Sternberg serves as an adjunct research associate in botany at the Illinois State Museum, and as an adjunct with the biology faculty of Illinois College.
Additionally, he is manager of the annual Oak Ridge tree tours in Illinois with 42 assistant volunteers He is author of many tree-related articles for specialized publications and several tree books, including “Native Trees of North America.”
Sternberg’s Starhill Forest Arboretum, founded in 1976, is a research and education facility placed in trust to Illinois College. Among its several thousand trees, the arboretum holds the largest oak (Quercus) research collection in North America.
Environmental Echo 