Oak Time with Hennessy

Hennessy Jones
Jun 23
3 min read

When I accepted my GrizzlyCorps position, I knew surprisingly little about oak trees for someone who would be dedicating a year to working with them. It was a steep learning curve— we have 10 species of oaks at the UC Hopland Research & Extension Center (HREC), and more hybrids than one can count. To familiarize myself with oaks, I started going on walks around the property with an oak ID sheet, testing myself on how many species I could correctly identify. Through these walks, the oaks began to feel like friends of mine. I began to notice the grooves in their bark, sinuses in their leaves, and the intricate lichen species they hosted. Each oak has its own look, from the way its gnarled branches extend to the minute differences in leaf shape; oaks feel almost human in their uniqueness. This was the start of my connection to the land at HREC and my understanding of the landscape.

A subsection of my goals this year was to create an oak ecology curriculum for both elementary and high school students. At the beginning of my position, this was maybe the most nerve-wracking element— how was I supposed to teach others about something I knew so little about myself? But as the months passed, I found myself not only confidently identifying many Quercus species but also understanding what makes each species so special and important to California’s biodiversity. Creating curriculum soon became my favorite part of my job as I got to share these revelations with others in a creative way. Just a few months prior, I was right where these students were: living amongst oaks but not understanding their role and why many oak species are struggling.

One of the programs I taught was an after-school program at our local elementary school just down the hill, which we called “Oak Time with Hennessy.” One Wednesday a month, I would run two 45-minute sessions on oak ecology to sets of fifteen students, where I would teach a variety of topics, including food webs and species identification. Coming from an early release day, these kids were quite rambunctious. They would run to the fence and back to burn off their energy, climb trees, and talk loudly over my instructions, sometimes leaving me disheartened. However, each time I came back, their excitement grew, and I would find them running to our table to learn instead of running to the fence and back. My last visit was this Wednesday, and I led two oak-themed games to round out the program. In the middle of a game, one of the boys said, “Hennessy! I saw a pileated woodpecker the other day!” I asked him about what it sounded like and how big it was, and he excitedly explained. This small announcement made me feel that my time was worthwhile. Hearing this student’s excitement about the species that inhabit oak woodlands was so special, and his eagerness to tell me made my time with these students that much sweeter.

Pictured above: (Left) Oak regeneration survey tools

(Right) Students learning to identify oak leaves during "Oak Time with Hennessy" after-school program

As I write this, I’m sitting outside on a picnic bench, gazing across the landscape. Oaks extend as far as the eye can see, from the Quercus douglasii stretching its branches next to me to the hodgepodge of oaks blanketing the hills. I hear acorn woodpeckers squawking, western meadowlarks and finches singing their song, and the breeze rustling oak leaves and grasses. I am already dreading my drive home from my fellowship term and the thought of leaving the oak woodlands and my new friends behind. Though I will miss the comfort of this site and the beauty that surrounds me, I will take with me the dedication to getting to know my new home with the same care and intention that my year at HREC has taught me.