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Hello Garry oak growers,

This is a gentle reminder of the upcoming Garry Oak Nursery work party on Sunday, April 28th from 10am to 1pm. We’ve just begun the push to get all the acorns planted: we have 375 in the soil so far! Come join in the particularly pleasant task of planting these acorns and soon we’ll be able to see their cute little leaves sprouting out of the soil!

As a reminder, there is a proper toilet (porta-potty type) on the premises.  Gloves, tools & refreshments are provided. Weather appropriate clothing & good work boots are recommended!

Learn more about volunteering

Hello again, Garry oak growers!

The schedule of upcoming work parties has been confirmed. They will continue weekly on alternating Saturdays and Sundays. The Saturday work parties will be from 2pm to 5pm and the Sundays will be from 10am to 1pm.

See the schedule below:

• Saturday, April 20th from 2pm – 5pm
• Sunday, April 28th from 10am – 1pm
• Saturday, May 4th from 2pm – 5pm 
• Sunday, May 12th from 10am – 1pm
• Saturday, May 18th from 2pm – 5pm 
• Sunday, May 26th from 10am – 1pm

Learn more about volunteering here!

Hello and happy spring to all you Garry oak growers!

The GOMPS Garry oak nursery is back up and running smoothly, with a new shelter erected and the irrigation system turned back on. A recent visit to the Nursery saw slightly dry pots but otherwise healthy oaks with no signs of winter damage.

Work parties are scheduled for the following dates:

• Sunday, March 31st, 10am to 1pm
• Saturday, April 6th, 2pm to 5pm
• Sunday, April 14th, 10am to 1pm

Judith and Judy will be hosting the upcoming work party on Sunday, March 31st from 10am to 1pm.

As a reminder, there is a proper toilet (porta-potty type) on the premises.  Gloves, tools & refreshments are provided. Weather appropriate clothing & good work boots are recommended!

Learn more about volunteering here!

Due to February’s snowstorm, the frequent below 0° temperatures and some infrastructure upgrades on site, we have temporarily put our Nursery work parties on hold.

Our nursery location in Central Saanich tends to receive the most snow when it does snow in the region, as you can see in the photo from late February. The good thing is the snow insulated the trees and a gradual melt was not a bad thing from that perspective.

Now that the snow is gone we’re in the process of installing a new work shelter that will make future work parties more comfortable and efficient.

We will recommence work parties shortly, though we don’t have a date set yet. There are a few different consideration to take into account as we plan for our next volunteer event at the Nursery. As summarized by our resident forestry expert:

“I see no need to hasten work parties for other than weed removal. Cold weather can return at nearly any time, compromising the benefit of re-potting any of the 2018 germinants in the small cavities.  I suggest mid-late April as a better time. By then warmer temps will favour root development into the new soil material and larger cavity size. Leaf emergence likely will need more time – likely a month later.
Assuming we do not have such a heat blast as last May’s, we should have top growth regulated by the healthy roots and our tending: weeding, watering and fertilizing.”

What that means for us is that we likely won’t be planting acorns or repotting our oaks until the weather warms up enough. Weeding can still happen in the meantime, so that might mean work parties will start again pretty soon once the new shelter is up and ready.

Stay tuned as we’ll be back soon with more info!

At this work party we had four volunteers contribute 13.5 hours of work.

What we accomplished:

• We did 6 flats today, so 90 x 4″ seedlings potted up into 1 gallon pots. Only 14 flats left to do!

Hello Garry oak growers and welcome to new volunteers!

The next two Garry Oak Nursery work parties will be

• Sunday, February 3rd, 10am to 1pm
• Saturday, February 9th, 1pm to 4pm

Our covered work area is still sadly departed, blown apart during the December windstorm, so these work parties will be weather dependent. This means that Judith, Judy or myself will be present on site on these dates and if it starts to pour we’ll call it a day and go home. Fortunately, we’ve nearly decided on a new, more durable shelter so we can have our regular work parties again, rain or shine.

As a reminder, there is a proper toilet (porta-potty type) on the premises.  Gloves, tools & refreshments are provided. Weather appropriate clothing & good work boots are recommended!