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Grosse Pointe City forester Brian Colter sliced and preserved this section of the trunk of a deceased white oak that was more than 250 years old. The section — called a “cookie” — now marks milestones in the city’s history over the last 250 years.
Photo by K. Michelle Moran
GROSSE POINTE CITY — The work of the late Brian Colter — the forester for Grosse Pointe City, Grosse Pointe Farms and Grosse Pointe Park — can be seen throughout the communities in the trees he planted over the last three decades.
But one of Colter’s final gifts to the community can now be found inside Grosse Pointe City Hall. A segment of tree trunk from a more than 250-year-old white oak on Washington Road killed by a windstorm on July 26, 2023, that Colter carefully sliced out and finished occupies a specially made stand. City Councilman Seth Krupp, the council liaison to the city’s Urban Forestry Commission, said Colter called the trunk slice “a cookie,” and it shows the tree rings that trace the tree’s age — it’s older than the United States. Working with local historian Katie Doelle, Krupp said they overlaid the cookie with dates of important historical events in Grosse Pointe City over the past 250 years.
The cookie was unveiled to the Grosse Pointe City Council during a meeting Dec. 15.
Colter had created a similar historical display using a cookie from a very old tree in Grosse Pointe Park after it came down many years ago. It remains on view at Park City Hall.
Colter died at his Grosse Pointe Park home March 15, 2025, at the age of 57.
Krupp said Colter was responsible for planting “the beautiful sycamores” on both sides of Jefferson Avenue in the city.
“As you look around and see the trees in our community, those were the work of Brian and others who came before him,” Krupp said. “He had a huge impact on this community.”
Colter started working for the City shortly after the Urban Forestry Commission was established in 2016.
Krupp referenced a Greek proverb that reads, “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”
“I think Brian’s work really embodied that,” Krupp said.
The cookie displays another famous tree quote, which Krupp said was Colter’s favorite: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
In a move that would have made Colter proud, the community’s tree fundraising program, ReLeaf of Grosse Pointe, has an ambitious goal for planting more trees this year.
“We are launching a pretty significant capital campaign (in 2026),” Urban Forestry Commission Chair Rick Whitney said.
The Urban Forestry Commission is hoping to raise about $65,000 to plant 250 trees in the city this year, he said. That number was chosen because 2026 is the 250th birthday of the United States gaining independence from England.
Whitney said that this past summer, the Urban Forestry Commission surveyed the city for city-owned spaces that could use trees and determined there was a need for about 500 more trees.
“We want no one to have to wear a hat unless it’s cold out,” said Whitney, referring to creating an overarching tree canopy across the city.
Those who want to support the 2026 initiative can send checks to the nonprofit City of Grosse Pointe Foundation; Krupp said checks should be made out to the foundation but should read ReLeaf Fund in the subject line.
Donations can be dropped off at City Hall or mailed to City of Grosse Pointe Foundation, 17147 Maumee Ave., Grosse Pointe City, MI 48230.
For more information or to make a donation online, visit grossepointecity.org.
