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Oakwood Cemetery board to pursue Morton Arboretum level‑1 accreditation; committee recommends application submission
Summary
The Oakwood Cemetery Board presented a recent tree survey and asked the city to assist completing a Morton Arboretum Level 1 application; the committee voted to recommend the council direct staff and the board to complete and submit the application and to approve a visitor brochure.
Nancy Jimenez, president of the Oakwood Cemetery Board, told the committee the cemetery contains roughly 500 trees and that a 2025 survey showed 87% of specimens were mature or overmature and that the tree population is heavily weighted toward maples and arborvitae.
Jimenez said the board completed a 2024 re-survey after losing about 60 ash trees to disease and that the board has labeled trees, prepared a brochure and largely filled out the Morton Arboretum (ARDMap) application. She said an accredited Level 1 arboretum would add educational and conservation value and could improve grant and donation prospects. "Becoming accredited demonstrates our commitment to professionalism," she said.
The Chair asked about protecting gravesites and how events would be managed; Jimenez said the board would schedule events to avoid burial services and include respectful language on the brochure. The committee moved to "recommend to the common council to direct the Oakwood Cemetery Board and staff to complete and submit the ARDMap application to create a level 1 arboretum within the Oakwood Cemetery," and the motion carried. The committee also approved recommending the common council approve the brochure.
