Healthy forests begin with small acts of care. When volunteers gather acorns from native oak trees, they help provide the seed stock needed for future…
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How to dry and store acorns before donation
Winter Tree Identification Through Twigs and Buds
A forest can look empty in winter, but its trees still carry a detailed record of identity. Without leaves or flowers, you can study twig arrangement, bud…
The threat of emerald ash borer to streamside forests
Streamside forests are among the most valuable and vulnerable parts of the Potomac River watershed. These wooded corridors shade creeks, slow stormwater, hold…
Scout Troops Growing Stronger Watersheds Through Seed Collection
A forest can begin with a small handful of acorns, walnuts, or native shrub seeds. When scout troops collect those seeds responsibly, they help create future…
How to Identify a Swamp White Oak by Its Bark
Swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) is a native hardwood of floodplains, wet woods, stream corridors, and low-lying forests. Its bark can provide valuable clues…
Why Some Native Trees Produce Mast Only Every Few Years
Walk through a mature forest in autumn and the ground may be covered with acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, or other large seeds. In another year, the same trees…
How forests changed across the Potomac River basin
The history of deforestation in the Potomac River basin is a history of changing relationships between people, forests, soil, and water. The basin’s forests…
From Forest Floor To Future Forests
When volunteers gather acorns, walnuts, and native shrub seeds, the work continues long after the collection bags leave the forest. Every seed must be counted,…
How to measure the success of a reforestation project
A reforestation project can look successful soon after planting, when rows of young trees bring fresh color to a cleared slope. Yet appearance alone cannot…
Why the Potomac watershed deserves our restoration efforts
The Potomac River watershed is more than a single river. It is a connected network of streams, forests, wetlands, farms, towns, and cities spread across…