OFFSITE TOUR: 1850 Newport Road, Ann Arbor
Enrollment: This tour is limited to 12 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Bird Hills Nature Area is the largest park in Ann Arbor. Its hilly woods are a sanctuary for hikers and nature lovers; the trails are closed to bicycles. No facilities are available, but a large parking lot is located on Newport Road. The wide-to-narrow unpaved trails wind through hills and ravines dominated by beech, sugar maple, flowering dogwood, oak, hickory, and other woody plants, both native and planted/naturalized. We will focus on features that identify tree species, including form and size, bark, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruits, and fall colors. We will also discuss soils, geographic ranges, invasive species, diseases, parasites, burls, shade tolerance, logging, and several other related topics. Appropriate footwear is recommended. Tour members are welcome to supplement the outing with phones/cameras, including the several excellent tree identification apps now widely available.
Tom Friedlander is a retired University of Michigan trained tree-and-shrub taxonomist who spent 38 years teaching and coaching at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor.
Driving directions and parking instructions will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour.