The Peninsula Township Tree Planting Program began in the fall of 2000 as a volunteer effort to restore the stately “maple lanes” planted by 19^th century settlers of the Old Mission Peninsula in honor of the first centennial of the United States. For more than a century, those trees had provided shade, reduced erosion and made a graceful archway over the Peninsula’s roads, but gradually many of them had died or been removed for safety reasons. Finally, a group of local residents decided something needed to be done to save the elegant lanes of trees that had been such a beloved feature of the Peninsula’s agricultural landscape.

Spearheaded by Rebecca and Leo Nothstine of the Old Mission Peninsula Historical Society, that original effort led to the planting of some 30 sugar maples and ornamental trees along Center Road and Old Mission Road. It was carried out by volunteers from the Old Mission Women's Club, the Old Mission Agricultural Preservation League and the Old Mission Elementary School with help from the township. Funding came entirely from private donations, including the proceeds of a soda-can campaign carried out by students at the school.

It was a beginning, but more needed to be done. In 2001 the township received a $5,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to finance planting of an additional 200 oaks and maples along Center Road, choosing tree species that were particularly disease-resistant and suited to roadside conditions. The plantings took place at scattered locations all the way from First Congregational Church near the base of the Peninsula to Swaney Road near its northern tip.

Planting, pruning and maintenance work was performed by local farmers, students and other volunteers, and the township fire department agreed to provide watering during dry periods. All the trees were planted on private property and spaced at regular intervals, with extra spaces left to accommodate possible future driveways so that none of the trees would have to be cut down later.

Soon private landowners were joining the effort by planting trees along their own roadsides, while other donors sponsored plantings of their own, often in honor of friends and loved ones. So far, in total some 500 trees have been planted along roadsides on the Peninsula. Of the over 300 trees planted by the Tree Committee of the Old Mission Peninsula Historical Society, some 80 are “memorial trees” marked with plaques to identify the person in whose honor they were planted.

Through its Tree Committee, the Old Mission Peninsula Historical Society continues to play the leading role in preserving and extending the planting program. The Society has documented each tree by species, donor and location, and makes sure that the plantings continue to thrive.

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