Oak Discovery Day at UCD

Apr 26, 2010

acorn

Do you love trees? The UC Davis Arboretum will be hosting a celebration of all things OAK on Oak Discovery Day on Sunday, May 2nd from 1 pm to 4 pm in Shields Oak Grove. After silently growing for almost half a century, the venerable trees in the Arboretum's Shields Oak Grove will debut as the featured attraction of this spring event.

With almost 300 mature trees representing over 80 different varieties of oaks from around the world, Shields Oak Grove is a wonderful oak destination. This spring celebration will spotlight oaks with an Arbor Day ceremony, oak tours, oak-related family activities, and exhibits of animals and insects associated with oaks - all centered around a newly constructed Oak Discovery Trail. Participants of all ages will have the opportunity to:

- Sculpt a leaf or acorn out of clay with artist Donna Billick and scientist Diane Ullman

- See how Native Californians traditionally processed acorns for food with cultural interpreter Diana Almendariz

- Learn the latest news about protecting California's oaks from Sudden Oak Death with UC Davis expert David Rizzo

For more information about Oak Discovery Day, visit the Arboretum website at

http://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/documents/OakDiscoveryDaySchedule_000.pdf .

By Pamela M. Geisel
Author - UC Cooperative Extension Advisor, emeritus