Guy Sternberg (born 1947) is the owner and operator of
Starhill Forest Arboretum in
Petersburg, Illinois
Petersburg is a city in and the county seat of Menard County, Illinois, United States, on the bluffs and part of the floodplain overlooking the Sangamon River. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population ...
. He is an
arborist
An arborist, tree surgeon, or (less commonly) arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants in dendrolo ...
, author of books on
oaks and is a founding member of the International Oak Society, tree consultant, and lecturer.
[
]
Biography
Sternberg served on the staff of the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...
for 32 years, receiving the Honor Award for outstanding service. He has been granted an adjunct research appointment to the
Illinois State Museum
The Illinois State Museum features the life, land, people and art of the State of Illinois. The headquarters museum is located on Spring and Edwards Streets, one block southwest of the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield. There are three satell ...
Botany Department and an adjunct faculty position in Biology at
Illinois College
Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...
. Sternberg is a charter life member and past chapter president of the Illinois Native Plant Society. He also holds life memberships in the
International Society of Arboriculture (from which he received a Special Recognition Award for his work with historic trees), the
International Dendrology Society
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
, and
American Forests
American Forests is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization, established in 1875, and dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
Activities
The mission of American ...
. Sternberg is a founding life member, past president, and past journal editor for the International Oak Society, with members from more than 35 countries on six continents, and received their Lifetime Service Award in 2003. He received the Bellrose Award from the
Illinois State Journal-Register in 2009 for his lifetime achievements in natural resources.
Sternberg has cultivated and studied trees since 1952 and has assembled one of the largest PCN oak genus (Quercus) living reference collections for North America at Starhill Forest, his research arboretum. He has developed and introduced more than 30 tree cultivars. He and his wife Edie grow more than 2500 accessioned taxa of woody plants at Starhill Forest. The arboretum is described in the
American Association of Museums
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
''Directory'', the
American Horticultural Society
The American Horticultural Society (AHS) is a nonprofit, membership-based organization that promotes excellence in American horticulture. It is headquartered at River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia.
History
Established in 1922, the AHS is one of t ...
's ''North American Horticulture Reference Guide'', and Jacobs' ''Gardens of North America and Hawaii'', and was featured in the 1994 educational film ''The Greenday Kids Learn About Trees'' and a 2007 PBS special for Illinois Stories, WSEC TV. It was one of 30 worldwide arboreta featured in the ''New Trees'' book compiled in 2009 by John Grimshaw for the International Dendrology Society, and has been dedicated in trust to Illinois College.
Guy has successfully nominated 51 current or former state champion trees in Illinois, six national champions, and a few more in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
, and
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, and has worked with the National Famous and Historic Tree Program to promote awareness and appreciation of special and historic trees. He has consulted on tree management for the Illinois Office of the Attorney General, the
Illinois Department of Agriculture
The Illinois Department of Agriculture is the code department of the Illinois state government that regulates various facets of the agriculture industries of Illinois, oversees Illinois soil and water conservation, supervises the weights and meas ...
, the Illinois Department of Military Affairs, the Illinois Secretary of State, the Illinois Capital Development Board, the
Illinois Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...
, the
US Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
, the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, and numerous communities. He has traveled widely studying trees and their habitats and participated in educational exchanges with the national dendrology societies of Germany and Belgium, the
TEMA Foundation
The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion ( tr, Türkiye Erozyonla Mücadele, Ağaçlandırma ve Doğal Varlıkları Koruma Vakfı), better known in abbreviated form as TEMA, is a non-governmental organization (NGO) for reforestation and t ...
of Turkey, the
Kunming Institute of Botany
Kunming Institute of Botany, or KIB (), founded in 1938, is a research institution in the field of Botany, which is located in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, China.
The Institute is one of the major herbariums in China and maintains a ...
in China, and arboreta throughout North America, Europe, and Latin America.
Sternberg has served as an honorary director for Wild Ones: Natural Landscapes, lectures frequently for various colleges, trade and professional organizations, and other institutions, and is very active in the preservation of historic trees. His public service work includes helping the Illinois Capital City of Springfield as the tree consultant and propagator for special trees and has donated more than 700 trees for
Oak Ridge Cemetery
Oak Ridge Cemetery is an American cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.
The Lincoln Tomb, where Abraham Lincoln, his wife and all but one of their children lie, is here, as are the graves of other prominent Illinois figures. Thus, it is the seco ...
, the setting of
President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
's Tomb. His work there has been registered as a National Living Memorial Site by the
US Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...
.
Sternberg has provided papers and photographs for ''American Nurseryman, Arborist News, Tree Care Industry, American Homestyle and Gardening, Wildflower,
Midwest Living
''Midwest Living'' is a regional American magazine published by Dotdash Meredith focused on the American Midwest. Founded in 1986, the magazine publishes region-specific information and inspiration, focusing on travel and events, food and dinin ...
, Garden Gate, American Horticulturist, Oak News and Notes, Weedpatch Gazette, American Gardener,
Landscape Architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...
,
Fine Gardening
''Fine Gardening'' is a magazine for gardening enthusiasts of all skill levels covering the basics of garden design with advice from horticulture experts and landscape professionals. The focus is more on ornamental plants and home landscaping rath ...
,
Country Woman
"Country Woman" is a song written and released by British rock band Bee Gees. It was written and performed solely by Maurice Gibb, and released as a B-side of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", which was the group's first US No. 1. The songs wer ...
, Old House Journal, Organic Gardening, Great Plants'', and ''Chicagoland Gardening''. He has published scientific papers in International Oaks (the journal of the International Oak Society, for which he also has served as editor), the International Plant Propagators Society Proceedings, the
New York State Museum
The New York State Museum is a research-backed institution in Albany, New York, United States. It is located on Madison Avenue, attached to the south side of the Empire State Plaza, facing onto the plaza and towards the New York State Capitol. ...
Bulletin, and the French Bulletin de l' Association des Parcs Botaniques. He served as English version editor for ''Chinese Seed Plants of the Big Bend Gorge of Yalu Tsangpo in Southeast Tibet'' by Hang and Zhou. He performed many technical reviews for the
National Arbor Day Foundation's Library of Trees series, and supplied photographs for the US Forest Service Field Guide to Native Oak Species of Eastern North America, the Belgian Guide Illustré des Chenes, and educational posters and web pages produced by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the
Live Oak Society
The Live Oak Society is a membership organization for mature live oak trees. It was founded in 1934 to advance the culture, distribution, preservation, and appreciation of the southern live oak (''Quercus virginiana'') and functions under the aus ...
.
He is the author (with Jim Wilson of ''
The Victory Garden'' public television series) and photographer for ''Landscaping with Native Trees''. He prepared a comprehensive, 550-page sequel to that volume titled ''Native Trees for North American Landscapes'', released in January 2004, which won national awards from the National Arbor Day Foundation and the
Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries. His most recent volume in that series, self-published in 2021, is ''Native Trees of North America''. Guy was a contributor to the World List of Threatened Trees project of the
World Conservation Monitoring Centre
The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is a collaboration centre of UN Environment Programme, based in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. UNEP-WCMC has been part of UN Environment Programme since 2000, and has ...
in
Cambridge, England
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...
(funded by the
Government of the Netherlands
The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke, ...
) and served as a taxonomic reviewer for Quercus in
Flora of North America
The ''Flora of North America North of Mexico'' (usually referred to as ''FNA'') is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America, including the United States, Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and Greenla ...
. He is a contributing author and volume editor for the ''World Compendium of Oaks'' prepared in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
(published in German by the Langeneicker Eichen Archiv). Sternberg also has been a contributor for several volumes in
Houghton-Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...
's ''Taylor's Guide'' garden encyclopedia series, including ''Taylor's Master Guide to Gardening'', and for
Taunton Press
Taunton Press is a publisher of periodicals, books, and websites for the hobbyist and building trades based in Newtown, Connecticut. It was established in 1975 by Paul Roman and his wife Jan.
Publications and Products
Periodicals published by ...
, Ortho,
Timber Press
Workman Publishing Company, Inc., is an American Publishing companies, publisher of Tradebook, trade books founded by Peter Workman. The company is comprised of either Imprint (trade name), imprints: Workman, Workman Children’s, Workman Calenda ...
,
Reader's Digest
''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
, Houghton-Mifflin, Meredith,
Better Homes & Gardens, and
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded in 1910 using land from Mount Prospect Park in central Brooklyn, adjacent to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum. The garden holds ...
horticulture books.
Works
*''Landscaping With Native Trees: The Northeast, Midwest, Midsouth & Southeast Edition'' (1996) .
:Sternberg was the principal author (with Jim Wilson of The Victory Garden Public Television series) and photographer.
:This is a reference book for natural landscape management.
*''Native Trees for North American Landscapes'' (2004)
: Sternberg prepared a comprehensive, 550-page sequel to the first book, released in January 2004, which has won national awards from the National Arbor Day Foundation and the
Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sternberg, Guy
Arborists
Living people
1947 births
People from Petersburg, Illinois
21st-century American botanists