Sustainable Gardeners and Farmers

A free-to-the-public workshop is being offered for tree lovers interested in learning new (and old) ways to save the many sick oak trees in Marin County and elsewhere. A wider view of the problem extends beyond the disease “Sudden Oak Death” and reveals that many of our aging oak forests and their soils are undergoing a major ecological shift brought on by changes in land management, especially fire suppression. The decline of the oaks appears to be tied to the fact that for thousands of years the local native people have kept the oaks healthy by employing fire as a tool to tend the land and trees.

Details will be presented on how fires and “fire substitutes” (e.g. volcanic ash) act to improve the fertility of soils and the health of trees. Results will be shown of case studies involving a suite of techniques to restore oak forests, including fire, mineral fertilizers, limewashing, brush clearing, and mulching.