RICHMOND — Residents can help the state’s reforestation efforts by collecting acorns and dropping them off at Virginia Department of Forestry locations. The last day to drop off acorns is Monday, Oct. 16.
The Augusta Nursery just outside of Charlottesville will plant the acorns.
VDOF Augusta Nursery manager Joshua McLaughlin oversees the selection and planting of millions of seedlings every year.
“I never thought I had a green thumb,” McLaughlin said. “I come here, start planting seeds, start growing things like, ‘Oh my gosh, I actually enjoy this.’”
Acorns from healthy trees can be delivered to the VDOF in a paper or burlap bag. Public efforts were so great last year that the VDOF was able to cancel orders from suppliers.
“The public saved us a bunch of money last year,” McLaughlin said.
Chris Cough, associate professor of biology at VCU, said the benefits of the program go beyond restoring Virginia’s natural landscape.
“Just broadly, the idea of engaging citizens for the purpose of understanding and appreciating the science and the environment around them, and that’s important,” Gough said.
The VDOF has a higher need for acorns from the white, black and chestnut oak species.
It also needs species from:
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black walnut
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Chinese chestnut
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Northern red oak
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pin oak
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Shumard oak
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Southern red oak
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swamp chestnut oak
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swamp white oak
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water oak
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willow oak
The VDOF also asked acorn collectors, if possible, to identify the type of tree by including a leaf with the collection. Different species should be separated.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
