Kristina Cervantes and Tami Church getting some oaks off to a good start.
On Saturday we held our first volunteer workday, and it was a blast! Over 50 volunteers showed up and planted almost every hole we had prepared. We had prepped around 400 holes, and put three acorns in each hole. This means we planted nearly 1,200 acorns. Amazing!
We planted two common local species, coast live oak and valley oak, on the upper banks of the Arroyo Mocho along Stanley Blvd. We created a randomized planting design, and color-coded each hole to facilitate site finding and planting for the volunteers. Each acorn site is protected from ground squirrels and other predators with a cage, which goes almost a foot into the ground beneath the
Jeff Thomas and Livermore Mayor John Marchand taking a break. Everyone really worked hard!
acorns. Because the ground was especially hard in some places, many holes had to be shoveled even after our apprentices had dug each hole with augers (basically large drills). It was hard work! We finished planting around noon, and celebrated the program launch with delicious barbecue catered by Bart’s Blazin’ Q, and fantastic live music by John Roy Zat and Friends.
We’d first like to thank our amazing volunteers, who worked tirelessly for 3 hours AND THEN helped us clean up! We’d also like to thank Clif Bar and Peet’s Coffee in Livermore for generously donating snacks and coffee for the morning.
Members of the Las Positas College Biology Club joined the effort. Hope to see you again!
If you missed last Saturday but still want to volunteer with us, we’re looking forward to our next volunteer workday on Saturday, November 2nd from 9 AM to noon. Click the Register button on the Home page for more information.