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Announcement: Our domain will soon be changing to sustain.venturacounty.gov.
The Ventura County Tree Coalition – a recently formed network of Ventura County community organizations, nonprofits, land trusts, and agencies – is hosting a series of community events with an emphasis on celebrating the importance of native oak trees and the benefits of community greening. The events, collectively part of OAKtober, will include a variety of community greening and education events ranging from community planting, environmental education workshops, and hikes.
“Oaks are our true elders,” says David White, a member of the Ventura County Tree Coalition and project coordinator for Once Upon a Watershed. “They are so important in supporting biodiversity. California’s native oaks are at the core of our unique ecosystems. They work silently for us by cleaning our air and water, buffering climate extremes, reducing flooding and erosion and supporting our native wildlife. Locally oaks provide the foundation for our community health.”
“Oak trees are known as a keystone species, and they provide immeasurable ecosystem benefits in many forest communities,” says Supervisor Matt LaVere. “However, oak trees have been drastically declining due to invasive pests, drought, fire suppression, and soil compaction from human activities. That’s why it’s so important to both celebrate the role of oak trees and educate the public on oak tree ecosystems.” Recognizing the importance of oak trees, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors will declare October as Oak Awareness Month. They will be joining the Cities of Ventura and Ojai who proclaimed October as Oak Awareness Month in 2021.
OAKtober is part of a larger effort to conserve and improve Ventura County’s tree canopy. The devastating wildfires and extreme drought the region has faced in recent years has caused a loss of tree canopy. “Preserving our trees is a critical strategy to adapting to climate change,” says Dr. Jim Downer, Environmental Horticulture Advisor from the UC Cooperative Extension. “As our environment gets hotter, we need to invest in environmental solutions to protect our vulnerable populations.”
With Ventura County and other regions in California facing an extreme drought, it is important to be strategic when it comes to watering and to prioritize watering trees. Areas in Ventura County, like Camarillo, Moorpark, and unincorporated areas, have made exceptions to water-use restrictions for drip irrigation and hand watering of trees and shrubs to protect from fires and erosion.
The public is encouraged to celebrate OAKtober by participating in one or more of the events upcoming events that will feature oaks, native, or drought tolerant plants:
Those who wish to participate in OAKtober but cannot attend are encouraged to celebrate in their own way. People can collect and plant oak acorns, go on their own hike through an oak woodland, or write an essay or create art on the importance of oak trees. To learn more about OAKtober, visit https://sustain.ventura.org/oaktober-events/.
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