Living with the Oaks

BY Christian Noriega

Welcome to my blog post!

After spending almost a year at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, I’ve seen spectacular flora and fauna. That said, only one species has been consistently present during my time at the reserve: oak trees. Going into my service year, I knew I would be working a lot with oak trees, since they were going to be one of my main projects at the reserve. However, I didn’t expect to develop strong sentiments toward this species of tree. Seeing the oaks’ size, uniqueness, and especially their resilience, I knew I was in for a spectacular year working with them.

Due to grazing, logging, and other environmental factors, white oak species have been documented to struggle with regeneration. This has led to wide age gaps between mature trees and viable saplings that are meant to replace them when their time on the landscape ends. This urgent issue prompted my jobsite, Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, to take action and launch its oak restoration project. In previous years, the reserve struggled to germinate collected acorns for various reasons. However, in 2024, the reserve had an abundance of acorns to collect, thanks to an exceptional masting year for the oaks.

In the germination trays, the acorns are sitting on vermiculite soil in rows of 5 or 6 acorns.

I was eager to start the project back in October—not just because I could learn more about oak trees, but also because it was an opportunity to be out in the field on the beautiful reserve. I began by collecting acorns from blue, black, and valley oaks across the reserve. After collecting them, we conducted float tests to discard non-viable acorns. The ones that floated generally indicated they couldn’t germinate or grow into oak trees due to environmental factors, such as weevil damage. After this step, we placed the viable acorns in Ziploc bags and stored them in the fridge to stratify for about a month. Once removed from the fridge, the acorns were placed onto germination trays filled with vermiculite soil in the greenhouse. As the acorns developed long radicles, we either planted them in point and area plots at their original collection sites or kept them in pots in the greenhouse to grow into seedlings, which we outplanted with orange tubes to protect them from predation and to create a microclimate. After this long process, we planted roughly 1,848 acorns into point and area plots, and 155 seedlings.

A picture of a valley oak seedling that we outpanted in one of our sites on the reserve.

Not only did I learn about oak trees—I also learned from them. Oaks taught me the importance of resilience during times of adversity. For example, blue oaks can grow in rough, rocky terrain and still thrive, eventually becoming beautiful trees. Even though oak trees are known for their difficulty in regenerating and germinating in the field, I remain confident that they will continue to thrive over time. Nonetheless, it was remarkable to witness the acorns I collected grow from start to finish. That experience sparked my passion for studying and appreciating oak trees.