Ashes and Murals

Question Corner: March 2009

by Tim Athan

posted 3/5/2009

Q. What percentage of the ash trees in Ann Arbor affected by the emerald ash borer have been removed?

A: The city has removed 7,100 ash trees from public property. A few may have been missed, but this amounts to nearly 100 percent. The city spent $300,000 last year planting new trees and expects to spend as much again in the coming fiscal year. But even with the help of contributions from the Dean Fund, Global ReLeaf of Michigan, and the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, it will be years before all the trees are replaced: before the epidemic, ashes accounted for almost one in five of Ann Arbor’s street trees.

Q. What’s the story on the mural on the Community High School fence on Fifth Avenue, and the two large banners on the building itself?

A. The mural, a brightly painted mash-up of Ann Arbor landmarks, was a joint project of Community High students and Angell School fifth-graders. It was funded by a grant from the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation’s Eleanora Bihler Dahlmann fund.

Each of the two-story-tall banners features a photograph of the school’s entrance with the text “Community High” dancing about it. They were created by CHS students and staff from a design by current senior Ansted Moss.

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[Originally published in March, 2009.]