Napa RCD Needs *SOME* Acorns!
Each fall, Napa RCD collects, plants, and distributes acorns from local native oak trees in our efforts to re-oak Napa County. This year, we are looking for a limited supply (please don’t bring us giant bags of stuff raked from your yard) of valley and coast live acorns, as well as a good stock of black and blue acorns.
We rely on volunteers like you to help us collect native oak acorns. Please only submit acorns from Napa County, and include the DATA SHEET with your acorns.
To volunteer, keep an eye out for acorns on your property or other properties that you have access to. Review this Acorn Collection Fact Sheet to learn how to tell good acorns (those that have a good chance of germinating) from bad, and other handy tips.
For all of our projects, we need acorns from:
- valley oak (Quercus lobata)
- coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia)
- blue oaks (Quercus douglasii)
- black oaks (Quercus kelloggii)
Review our Four Common Oaks for tips on how to identify native oaks.
Still not sure what kind of oak you have? Take some photos and share them with us! Close-up photos of the leaves and photos of the whole tree and acorns are most helpful for identification.
Bag your acorns in a paper bag with as little moisture as possible. Include a few leaves from the tree for identification. Fill out this Data Sheet and bring it to our office (1303 Jefferson Street, Suite 500B) with the acorns.
Tips for collecting viable acorns:
- Acorns should be matured and brown.
- Acorn shell should be intact with no small holes or large cracks
- Acorns should not rattle when you shake them
- Store acorns in a refrigerator if you are holding for more than 1 – 2 days.
Questions? Contact Ashley@NapaRCD.org or 707-690-3117