Oaks of California, a hands-on workshop to get to know these crucial anchors of our ecosystems
Curious about our local oaks and California oaks in general? Did you know that more kinds of oaks in California grow as shrubs rather than trees? That many habitats in California have oaks, including some desert plant communities? That we have 9 different species of oaks (in the genus Quercus) in El Dorado County and 11 total taxa including variations? And, that there are naturally occurring oak hybrids?! If you’d like to know more about these fascinating and hugely important members of our ecosystems, and learn how to identify them, join us at the workshop at our lovely native plant garden – the Nature Nook – at the Placerville Library on Saturday, September 21st, from 10 am to noon.
This will be a family-friendly event, so bring the kids! We will have branches and acorns from the various members of the Oak family for you to see and touch; copies of a California oak coloring book, with pages ready to make leaf rubbings; and directions for planting acorns and supporting growing oak seedlings. You may bring leaves and acorns from oak trees in your own landscape and find out which types of oaks are providing so much habitat value right at home.
You may want to bring chairs, as there are none at The Nook, as well as water and a hat, since we will be outside for the workshop and the weather might be warm.
Questions? email the workshop leader, Ginna Meyer.
We are planning a follow-up field trip focusing on the trees and shrubs of the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and of course we’ll be visiting a number (7!) of these oaks in their habitats. Look for the notice about this trip under “Events” on our website eldoradocnps.org.
