By Maggie LaNoue,
Contributing Writer
Albion’s trees are coming down from multiple directions. The city is culling aged and dangerous trees along boulevards and in parks. Windstorms have snapped trunks in wooded neighborhoods. Warmer winters are allowing insects and diseases to persist longer than they once did. Against that backdrop, Kary Gee of Gee Farms Nursery in Stockbridge addressed the Albion City Council on April 20 with a message that was less about what has been lost and more about what comes next.
“We know them, and we understand them,” Gee said of trees. “Right trees, right situations.”
Gee is the sixth of eight generations of her family to work at Gee Farms Nursery, a farm established in 1849 that has grown into Michigan’s largest retail nursery under one roof. Her message was straightforward: trees have a lifetime, and planning for what replaces them is as important as planting them in the first place. Architects and developers often specify matching trees for aesthetics, but uniform plantings create long-term problems. Dutch elm disease exposed this decades ago when a blight wiped out an entire species that had been planted in rows across American cities. Diverse native species, chosen for the specific conditions of each location, are the lesson learned.
Planting size matters too. Gee described the importance of matching the tree’s size to the space, and the value of sourcing trees locally so the soil moves with the tree and the root system has the best chance of establishing.
Gee Farms operates a sister company, Re-Tree, that offers communities a way to recover financial value from mature trees before they are seen as a liability in the future. The program works by appraising existing trees, listing them on a digital marketplace, and replacing them with younger, better-suited species at little or no net cost to the property owner.
One case study Gee brought to the meeting clearly tells the story. A community replanting a parking lot removed mature trees that had grown too large for the space, sold them through Re-Tree while they were still in their prime, and netted $55,000; enough to cover the cost of replacement trees and then some. Trees must be healthy to qualify. Damaged or diseased trees are not eligible for the program.
Certified arborist Bob Wright, who presented alongside Gee, noted that oak trees in certain conditions are likely candidates for structural failure, reinforcing the city’s documented reasons for some of its removals. Councilwoman Vivian Davis thanked the presenters on behalf of the community.
Public Services Director Jason Kern, who introduced Gee and Wright to the council, added a local idea that reflects the same forward-thinking approach. The city owns land near the water treatment plant that currently requires staff time just to mow. Kern said he wants to use that land to grow replacement trees, giving Albion its own supply of locally grown stock for future replanting.
The April 20 meeting closed with an Arbor Day proclamation confirming that Albion has earned its 2025 Tree City USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation. One requirement for keeping that designation is an active tree committee. On April 22, the city formally invited residents who had expressed interest to serve as volunteers on the Albion Tree Committee, a citizen-led group that works with city officials on tree planting, advocacy, education, and maintenance. City Hall space is available for meetings. Residents interested in serving may contact Jill Domingo or Amber Kidder at City Hall.
Knowing what trees Albion has, and where they are, will be an increasingly important part of that work. Trees eligible for transplanting through programs like Re-Tree must meet specific criteria: generally under 30 feet tall, with a circumference no greater than 42 inches, and in good health. A GPS inventory of every city street tree is planned, which will help identify which trees are candidates for transplanting, which need removal, and where new planting is needed most. Grant writing is also on the agenda. The work is already underway. There is room for more hands.
