What is the Garry Oak Nursery?The Garry Oak Nursery has been in operation since 2017 to meet the challenge of producing local Garry oaks (Quercus garryana). The Nursery project is run by a task force drawn from members of GOMPS and addresses the rapid loss of Greater Victoria's native flagship tree - the Garry oak.
This April, volunteers planted the acorns that were collected last autumn and stored over winter in a fridge on site. Over 250 acorns were planted in 1 gallon pots, which have leafed out and grown well in the months since. Click here to read more about our Nursery operations. Interested in volunteering?
We'd love to hear from all interested volunteers!
Click here to learn more about volunteering at the Garry Oak Nursery. Click here to visit our page on Volunteer Victoria. |
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What is our goal?
Drawing on the support of volunteers and local expertise, our goal is to produce hundreds young trees per year over the lifetime of the Nursery project from locally collected acorns. The majority of the Nursery's inventory will be supplied by donation to other municipalities, major landowners and the general public. Our aim is get young Garry oaks (Quercus garryana) out into the community to be planted and cared for until they become part of our mature urban forest canopy. We provide guidance for planting and care to help landowners ensure the survival of the trees.
Why do we do it?
Large mature Garry oaks (Quercus garryana) are falling faster than they are being replaced, producing a dramatic age gap between large established trees and the few recently planted young ones. Most seedlings do not survive the stresses of our urban forest due to their required care and protection from humans and animals. The general public, municipal governments and restoration projects need young trees now but few of those available are of local origin.
How did the Nursery start?
After years of planning, the Nursery was started in 2017. The City of Victoria has agreed to sub-licence a former nursery site to GOMPS and in return we will provide a percentage of trees to the City of Victoria free of charge. GOMPS is using two generous legacies of local estates to fund nursery operations. GOMPS is pleased to now have a beautiful nursery space dedicated to producing Garry oaks (Quercus garryana) of local genetic origin.