TLC Awarded Grant to Plant Oaks

Northwest Herald- 7/18/08- Grant to preserve oak trees:

WOODSTOCK – In the 1830s, about one-third of McHenry County was oak-hickory woodlands. Today, they cover less than 5 percent of the land.

If nothing is done to protect or regenerate the oaks that are left, they could be gone in 20 years, environmental experts said.

“A big problem in the county with our remaining oak woodlands is that a lot of them are on private landowners’ land, and the landowners will mow underneath all the oak trees,” said land protection specialist Linda Balek of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County. As a result, oak seedlings are mowed down before they have a chance to grow.

The Land Conservancy is leading a project to address the local oak decline by planting new trees, raising awareness about the need to take care of existing oaks, and gathering data about local oak trees.

Project Quercus – “quercus” is Latin for oak – began two years ago this month.

In that time, area children have planted, adopted, and named more than 200 small oaks at sites around the county and pledged to water them for two years, Balek said.

The National Environmental Education Foundation awarded a $1,000 grant Friday to The Land Conservancy to help pay for equipment associated with planting baby oak trees on Sept. 27 in Woodstock’s Emricson Park for National Public Lands Day.... MORE

More on Project Quercus