ISSUE 1 Spring 2022

Growing Oaks
STEWARDING OUR OREGON OAKS: A CONSERVATION PROJECT AT WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY

SUCCESSFUL They are growing in their current pots and will

IN THIS ISSUE
have summer research students caring for
ACORN them and monitoring their health. The

COLLECTIONS saplings will be planted in Spring 2023 once

they have grown a sufficient taproot. This
Successful Acorn
Collections
next school year, we plan to repeat the
This past Fall semester, the project collected process, collecting acorns from August Outreach Beyond The
about 1000 acorns from ten locations around through October, organizing and maintaining University
Salem. At each location, our team gathered our growing acorns throughout the school
data on the site conditions while selectively year, and planting in the Spring. We have Approved Experimental
collecting viable acorns with no holes or mold. created a "Donation" form for those either
As students, we are honored to have had the
Plot At Zena
interested in growing oaks from acorns
opportunity to collect at each site and we themselves or who would like an oak sapling
thank everyone who reached out to us to allow to plant. Along with growing, we have spent Request Acorns And/Or
us to collect from their property. After we time collecting data, creating resources and An Oak sapling
collected acorns from a property we spent establishing connections.
time cataloging them in our database and
organizing them. To extend our acorns’
viability, we put them in bags filled with
vermiculite. This allowed the acorns to retain
their moisture while keeping excess moisture
out. In December, we began potting our
acorns in soil. We started our acorns in 6-inch
pots and, in Spring semester after they had
grown some, we repotted them into 14-inch
pots. They are growing in their current pots

THE OFFICIAL GROWING OAKS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 //Spring 2022

THE OFFICIAL GROWING OAKS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 //Spring 2022

APPROVED
EXPERIMENTAL PLOT AT
WILLAMETTE'S ZENA
PROPERTY

This past Spring semester, we successfully wrote a plan to

create two experimental plots at the Zena property owned
by Willamette University. In Spring 2023, acorns and started
Oregon Oak saplings will be planted. These plots are
intended to serve as research resources for academic
departments, individual students, and other organizations
on campus. Anyone who is interested in research or
volunteering to work on the experimental plot should reach
out to our team. Read our full experimental plot proposal
here. These oaks will be tended to and taken care of by the
OUTREACH BEYOND THE Growing Oaks team, students at Zena, and anyone else who

UNIVERSITY volunteers.

In the first stage of our project, an article about Growing

WANT AN OAK?
Interested in growing your own Oregon
Oaks was published in the Salem Reporter, sharing our
Oaks? Our project is donating acorns and
project's intent to collect acorns from Oregon Oaks within
the Greater Salem area. Through the article, we were able to
saplings we've grown for you to plant
build the project's foundation and bring attention to the
independently! Click the link below to
ecological, historical, and cultural importance of this
request acorns or saplings! Materials on
species. We are very fortunate to have met and created how care for your oak will be shared with
connections with a variety of people through this article’s all those who request a donation. Happy
publication. growing!
Request Acorns and/or an Oak sapling(s) here
During the Spring 2022 semester, we have been able to
expand our network and forms of outreach. Some examples RESOURCES
of outreach include: submitting a public comment on the How to identify an Oregon Oak
Meyer Farm property, presenting our project to the Brochure: How to grow your own Oregon Oak
Willamette ICL group, and participating in a speaker panel. Our Linktree
By reaching out to members of the local Tribes, our project Contact us: growing-oaks@willamette.edu
was shared among them. We are actively working on
developing our connections beyond the Willamette
community and the Salem area. Similarly, as Oregon Oaks
are declining due to urbanization, winery production, and
conversion to farmland, we are exploring ways to bring
awareness about the importance of this species to these
industries.

THE OFFICIAL GROWING OAKS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 //Spring 2022

 ISSUE 2 Fall 2022

Growing Oaks
STEWARDING OUR OREGON OAKS: A CONSERVATION PROJECT AT WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY

Images from top left to bottom right: Panel, CTGR native plant nursery, Turner property, Oak sapling planting, Digging hole
for sapling, Native plant nursery tour

SUCCESSFUL Oregon tribes. Serra, the executive

director of the nonprofit LIVE, added a
IN THIS ISSUE
3 DAY OAK perspective from the wine industry, Successful 3 Day Oak
FESTIVAL describing efforts to regenerate oaks on
their lands. Day 2, October 8, had
Festival
Through the funding of a CAFES grant, activities at Zenafest, including food
Salem Public Comment
our group organized and hosted demos, crafts, an oak wishing tree, a
Willamette University's first Oregon nature walk, and an oak sapling planting.
CPOP Conference
Oak Festival. This three-day festival The food demos included tasting of acorn
Participation
was free and open to the public. The pancakes and acorn jelly, which
first day, October 7, kicked off with an emphasized the many cultures of the
oak panel with panelists David Craig, world that have eaten acorns. Acorn
Upcoming Work
Joe Bowersox, Grace Shiffrin, Lindsey crafts included acorn necklace making
McClary and Chris Serra. Professors and cyanoprints. The group planted their property, where Josh Seekatz
Craig and Bowersox described the first oak sapling with a ceremony to gave us a tour. We learned about
history of the Oregon Oak at honor how the oak came to be, and those the plan for the property, its oak
Willamette, along with Shiffrin's who have and will care for the oak. Day 3, legacy and listened to birds. The
student perspective. McClary, a October 9, consisted of two field trips. Oregon Oak Festival was the first
restoration ecologist for the The first was to the Confederated Tribes big event the group has
Confederated Tribes of the Grand of the Grand Ronde’s native plant nursery organized and we were inspired
Ronde, spoke of the past, present and where Jermeny Ojua gave us a tour. We by the school and community
future of the oak in relation to the then were able to eat some native plants engagement. We want to thank
Oregon tribes. Serra, the executive and gathered seeds. The second field trip everyone who attended and
director of the nonprofit LIVE, added a was to the Confederated Tribes of the participated. We hope to
perspective from the wine industry, Siletz Indians’ Turner continue this festival annually.

THE OFFICIAL GROWING OAKS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2 //Fall 2022

THE OFFICIAL GROWING OAKS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2 //Fall 2022

SPRING PLANS: PLANTING

OAKS AND OUTREACH
This spring semester we have several plans we are
excited about. Last spring we drafted and presented a
plan for our group to monitor and manage two plots
at Zena. The plan was approved and we will begin
implementing it this spring semester, including
preparing the land by weeding, removing non-native
plant species, mulching, and digging holes. We will
then plant the saplings we have grown and place tree
shelters around them for protection. This will require
FALL OUTREACH the community's help and we plan to update our

Cascadia Prairie Oak Partnership Conference: Four of email listserv with volunteer days at Zena to

the group's leaders attended the CPOP conference: Angie participate in planting oak saplings. Next, several of

Wang, Grace Shiffrin, Isabella Stone & Sophia Rosenberg. our leaders are planning to create more public

Here, we listened to talks about ecological management outreach through different forms of media, activities,

strategies and recent studies regarding native plants. We and events. Sean Olson is currently working on

presented two posters: "A Story of Propagating Hope One elementary oak education to share and present with

Acorn at a Time” which detailed the story of the group local schools. Ava and Winter plan to continue their

and “Legacy of Oaks- Collecting Impressions Across Salem tree code work by cataloging the cities

Generations and Locations”, which compiled responses regulations and policies regarding the OR Oak.

regarding the public's general knowledge and awareness Read about us in the Statesman Journal
of OR Oaks. This was a valuable experience, allowing us to
learn about current native plant projects, along with
providing a space for us to share the project beyond
Willamette. We thank those who funded our time at CPOP.
Salem Tree Code Public Comment: Two of the group's
WANT AN OAK?
leaders, Winter Bond & Ava Digre, submitted a public Interested in your own Oregon Oaks? Our
comment regarding the cities tree code amendments. project is donating saplings we've grown
After reviewing the existing codes and the proposed for you to plant independently! Click the
revisions, the leaders argued the OR Oak be classified as a link below to request an Oak sapling or
heritage species, meaning all OR Oaks in Salem be multiple! Materials on how care for your
protected the same as individually classified heritage oak will be shared with all those who
trees or, alternatively, that the diameter threshold for OR request a donation. Happy growing!
Oaks that receive significant status (and subsequent Request an Oak sapling(s) here
protection) be lowered from 20 to 16 inches. We found
MORE ABOUT US
that there was insufficient data to tie diameter to Oak Scan the QR code for our Linktree
age, and thus the value should be lowered to protect which has more resources and info
older, smaller trees until a more reliable method for Contact us at:
quickly dating oaks is found. Read the full comment here. growing-oaks@willamette.edu

THE OFFICIAL GROWING OAKS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2 //Fall 2022