From acorn to oak: how local students are restoring Sacramento’s oak woodlands

*One 3^rd grade class was so excited to grow and care for their trees, they bejeweled their seedlings with fancy name tags.*

Each year, students across the region play an important role in reforesting our native oak habitats by growing oak seedlings through the Tree Foundation’s Seed to Seedling Program. The program provides lessons geared toward 3^rd graders and focuses on the natural and cultural history of Sacramento’s native oaks and oak woodlands, and the importance of caring for our beloved trees. January marked the official start of the 2024 program, with acorn kits being delivered to over 85 classrooms, homeschool groups, scout groups, and after school programs across the region. Students then spent the next four months caring for and growing their acorns into seedlings while following lessons from our curriculum about the natural and cultural history of California’s native oaks and the importance of our urban forest.

Seedlings arrive back at the nursery

Some of the seedlings were returned with sweet notes from our young tree stewards

At the end of April, more than 2,500 seedlings were picked up and returned to the Tree Foundation nursery joining several thousand other oak seedlings grown by nursery staff. Participants in the Seed to Seedling program this year grew valley oak (Quercus lobata) seedlings and nursery staff grew both interior live oak (Quercus wislizeni) and blue oak (Quercus douglasii) seedlings—all three species are native to the region and provide more benefits to local wildlife, our health, and the environment than any other tree that grows locally. Oaks are a keystone species, meaning they are essential to our ecosystem and support thousands of other species that wouldn’t be here without them. Over the summer months, staff will water and care for the young oaks to ensure they continue to grow until they are strong enough to be planted at reforestation sites later in the year.

Replanting our oak woodlands

*Volunteers help to reforest the region by planting oak seedlings along Franklin Creek Trail in Elk Grove.*

During the fall and winter, over 150 volunteers will plant these young oaks —joining the over 4,000 seedlings SacTree cares for each year. Over the last ten years, the Tree Foundation has planted over 15,000 trees at reforestation sites! Oak woodlands are the backbone of our local ecosystems — they provide critical habitat for wildlife and a welcome respite from city life. Native oaks and other native trees, shrubs, and plants are essential for biodiversity and thriving ecosystems. This is why the Tree Foundation has prioritized planting native oaks for decades. These plantings are made possible through local partnerships, our donors, and supporters throughout the community.

How do I get involved?

*Volunteers collect valley oak acorns at a local community harvest event*.

Seed to Seedling and Acorn Harvest

Sign-ups for the Seed to Seedling 2024-2025 school year will reopen in the fall. Parents and educators are encouraged to use our free curriculum, activities, and resources all year long! For more information, please visit sactree.org/seedtoseedling.

For those interested in joining us for the 2024 acorn harvest, sign-ups will reopen in the late summer at sactree.org/acornharvest.  

Planting events

Keep an eye out for upcoming reforestation plantings at sactree.org/events. Help us plant the oak seedlings this winter and enjoy rare access to beautiful, urban reforestation sites.