The Tree Lab Takes Root in Washtenaw County: Ypsilanti High School Hosts First Local Pilot

In October, Ypsilanti High School became the first Southeast Michigan site to host The Tree Lab, a mobile, living-learning laboratory designed to introduce students to hands-on training in forestry, agriculture, ecosystem restoration, and natural resources careers.

Students cycled through Tree Lab “workforce stations”—from tree planting and propagation to drone-assisted land assessment—and gained exposure to the real-world STEM skills behind today’s conservation and land stewardship work.

The Ypsilanti Community High School campus is uniquely positioned for immersive environmental education. Co‑located with Ypsilanti STEMM Middle College, Estabrook Elementary, Washtenaw International High School and Middle School (WIHI/WIMA), and the Regional Career Technical Center, the campus forms a multi‑school learning ecosystem. Outdoors, the grounds include an orchard, pollinator garden, and approximately five acres of forest known as Grizzly Woods, all of which provide living laboratories for place‑based learning.

This pilot was developed in partnership with Laurel Wiinikka-Buesser, Ypsilanti High School’s Agriscience Botany CTE instructor, whose students have been actively establishing a new school orchard and studying plant physiology, soil science, food justice, and climate‑resilient agriculture. The Tree Lab session aligned directly with YCS’s Agriscience Botany curriculum, offering students hands-on experiences that reinforced classroom topics such as propagation, invasive species management (especially buckthorn), forest ecology, and sustainable land use.

The day was structured around a short classroom introduction followed by a two-hour outdoor block where students engaged with three core Tree Lab workforce stations: the Tree Library, the Nursery School propagation station, and the Agroforestry Command Center, which included a drone technology demonstration in partnership with YCS CTE Aviation. The team also began exploring long-term opportunities—including guiding development of a Grizzly Woods Management Plan, future planting days, and expanded participation across other YCS programs such as Estabrook and the IB curriculum.

The success of the pilot reflects the leadership of Nathan Ayers, founder of Chiwara L3C and developer of The Tree Lab, whose vision and coordination brought the program to Washtenaw County and guided the full day of hands-on learning, paired with the innovative and passionate teaching of Laurel Wiinikka-Buesser, whose commitment to hands-on, climate-resilient education made this partnership possible. The effort was supported by strong collaboration among local partners.

We extend sincere thanks to:

• Matt DeJonge, WCCD Community Forester, for providing a professional forester’s perspective on Michigan’s urban and rural tree challenges—from invasive species to climate-driven stressors.
• Shannon Sylte and Milan Anderson, both University of Michigan SEAS alumni, who shared their backgrounds in landscape architecture, ecological design, agroforestry, and local food systems.
• Washtenaw CTE Aviation Instructor Michael Cushman and aviation student Adrien, for delivering a drone demonstration showing how aerial technology is used to monitor invasive species, track forest health, and support sustainable land management.

Students expressed excitement and surprise at the number of career pathways connected to forestry, aviation technology, agroforestry, and ecological restoration. That spark—understanding that conservation and environmental tech careers are accessible—is exactly what the Tree Lab is designed to ignite.

The Tree Lab is a program of the Michigan Agroforestry Partnership (MAP) & Chiwara L3C, originally developed in Oceana County, Michigan, a region defined by its rich forest heritage, working farms, coastal ecosystems, and the growing threat of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA).

The Tree Lab was created to address a simple but powerful framework:

PLACE. PROBLEM. PROJECT.

Place: Oceana’s forests, dunes, orchards, and inland streams.

Problem: Rapid loss of habitat and the spread of HWA threatening Michigan’s 170 million hemlock trees.

Project: A mobile educational platform that trains youth in forestry, propagation, timber technology, agroforestry, and ecological restoration—while planting trees and restoring habitat alongside local partners.

Since 2025, The Tree Lab has engaged hundreds of students in Oceana County through hands-on restoration projects, including major reforestation efforts at Camp Miniwanca using this 3P framework.

The Washtenaw County Conservation District (WCCD), educators in Ypsilanti Community Schools, and the Tree Lab team see powerful opportunity here:

• Agroforestry education for students to gain awareness of solutions to climate and environmental issues.
• Career-connected learning at a time when Michigan faces a growing need for foresters, arborists, drone technicians, ecological restoration specialists, and natural resource professionals.
• Community-scale restoration, as students learn propagation, assess landscapes, build skills, and plant trees that directly strengthen local ecosystems.

The October pilot marks the beginning of a deeper collaboration to grow The Tree Lab through 2026–2027.

As we prepare for a spring 2026 Tree Lab workday at Ypsilanti High School, we are seeking support specifically for this next student planting and workforce‑station session.

If you’d like to help make the spring Tree Lab day possible, you can make a donation through the Washtenaw County Conservation District, which is serving as the local fiscal sponsor for this project.

To discuss a contribution, please contact WCCD at development@washtenawcd.org, or visit washtenawcd.org/support.

The Tree Lab’s Ypsilanti pilot did more than plant trees—it planted curiosity, career exploration, and environmental leadership. The Ypsilanti Community School system is fertile ground for these seeds, with several acres of forested natural area and the surrounding community is looking to get engaged.

As the program takes deeper root in Washtenaw County, we look forward to sharing more opportunities for residents, donors, and partners to help grow this innovative model of conservation education.