For more than 20 years, families and Michigan Medicine care team members, in partnership with Nichols Arboretum, have met on a Saturday each October to acknowledge the significance of perinatal loss and remember loved pregnancies and precious babies who are not physically with us.
From the beginning of time, families have experienced perinatal loss, but it wasn’t until the 1980’s that our society began recognizing the need for supportive care in grieving pregnancy and newborn death. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan declared October to be “National Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month,” calling for communities to come together for support and recognition of these significant losses. Read the Presidential Proclamation here.
A Walk to Remember and Tree Dedication
Registration Information:
The 2023 A Walk to Remember and Tree Dedication event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at 1 p.m. Please register here by Friday Sept. 22, 2023.
2023 A Walk to Remember and Tree Dedication T-shirts:
Commemorative t-shirts are available for online purchase from a private vendor. Orders must be placed by Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, and t-shirts will be shipped on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Please note, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital is not involved with t-shirt sales and does not share your contact information. T-shirts are only available online and will not be sold at the event.
Leaves
Part of the A Walk to Remember tradition includes an opportunity for participants to place a brief message on a paper leaf which is carried to the tree planting site and left in a basket. Leaves from every year are saved and archived in a scrapbook.
Contact Information
If you have additional questions, please email [email protected].
2023 Tree Information
The A Walk to Remember 2023 tree is a Magnolia Acuminata, which is a magnificent native of ancient lineage. It has bold foliage, inconspicuous green or cheery yellow flowers, and attractive fruit with red-orange seed favored by songbirds and small mammals.
The 2023 tree can be found alongside most of the previous years’ tribute trees in the Magnolia Glen area of the Arb. The 2002 – 2006 tribute trees are located in the Main Valley Maples area of the Arb. 
View the Walk to Remember tribute tree map here.