ABOUT STARHILL FOREST ARBORETUM

WE PARTICPATE IN MANY ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS

YOUR HOSTS EDIE & GUY & STERNBERG
with the Illinois Champion Dwarf Hackberry at Starhill Forest Arboretum in Petersburg, IL

Contact Edie                      Contact Guy

OFFICIAL ARBORETUM
OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE




Arboretum Manager:
Alana McKean

Contact Alana

More About Alana McKean

MORE ABOUT GUY AND EDIE STERNBERG,
FOUNDERS OF STARHILL FOREST ARBORETUM

We welcome your scheduled visit. We offer lectures on our site about oaks, historic trees, native trees, and other tree-related topics, and we bring our presentations to any English-speaking country, tailored for any audience level.

Please contact us to discuss all the options and schedule a visit

About Starhill Forest Arboretum

Guy Sternberg is a landscape architect, arborist, tree consultant, writer, lecturer, and photographer from Illinois. He has propagated and grown hundreds of species of trees, both native and non-native, and maintains his own research arboretum, Starhill Forest, with his wife, Edie. He was the first president of the International Oak Society and is a life member of the International Dendrology Society, International Society of Arboriculture, and American Forests.

Located on 48 acres in southern Menard County, IL, Starhill Forest is a private arboretum owned andoperated by the Sternberg family since 1976. The land has been farmed and grazed since the mid-19th century, when Abraham Lincoln traveled on the same road during his New Salem days.

Old trees in the forested areas date to about 1850, and the oldest planted trees were started from seed in 1964 and transplanted from another location. Permanent records kept by Starhill Forest include provenanceinformation, propagation method and year, mapped location within the arboretum via a surveyed grid system, and other data. In addition, permanent records of other taxa that have been tested and have not survived include cause of death, when known.

The primary scientific collection is a quercetum (oak) comprising the living reference collection recognizedby the North American Plant Preservation Council. Additionally, approximately 150 other genera of woody plants are available for study, as well as herb and perennial landscapes, a native prairie garden, several provenance tests, and a conifer plantation.

GPS Location — North 39°56.1' / West 89°48.1'
Mean Elevation — 560 feet (180m) MSL
Topographic Relief — Approximately 80 feet (25m)
Accessioned Living Woody Taxa — Approximately 1500

Certified Tree Farm National ID No. 20018831