Old Growth Forests in the City

Stuff We Love

March 8, 2025

Archangel Ancient Tree Archive (AATA) has been on a mission to preserve forests by cloning some of the world’s oldest, largest trees and propagating them in their Copemish headquarters. They’ve planted saplings all over the country, from black willows on the Interlochen Arts Academy campus to redwoods in California. Now, AATA is headed to Motor City, where they will plant a giant sequoia forest in the heart of Detroit’s Poletown East neighborhood. While these trees grow slowly (and live for hundreds or thousands of years), they grow nearly 300 feet tall with trunks 30 feet in diameter. David Milarch, co-founder of AATA, says of the project, “We’re introducing the most powerful carbon-sequestering, climate-resilient organisms on the planet into a city that needs them. This project proves that even in the most unexpected places, we can rebuild ancient forests and a better future.” Learn more at ancienttreearchive.org.