A free workshop with Brenda Juarez and Gary Nett

Co-hosted by the UC Sedgwick Reserve
3566 Brinkerhoff Avenue, Santa Ynez, CA 93460
Advance registration begins November 7 at synature@west.net  or 805/ 693-5683. Participation is limited to 20.

In this free hands-on workshop, Gary Nett and Brenda Juarez will offer tips for planting and growing native oaks from acorns and seedlings. In addition to demonstrating planting methods and techniques for protection from predators, basic “do’s” and “don’ts” will be covered. We will also take a short walk to see the three species of oaks that grow on the reserve, and discuss the natural history associated with oak woodlands and concerns about oak reproduction and recruitment.  Participants should bring gloves and wear sturdy walking shoes.  Tools and materials will be provided.

Brenda Juarez is a docent at the UC Sedgwick Reserve and an oak tree advocate.  A graduate of the California Naturalist certification program in 2013, her “capstone project” entailed creating and implementing an oak restoration project at the reserve, and comparing a variety of planting techniques.  Hence was born the “Oakies,” a volunteer oak planting and nurturing group at Sedgwick that has planted hundreds of seedlings of Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) using two different watering approaches.

Gary Nett is a charter member of the Sedgwick “Oakies” and a certified “garden hermit.”  He is an active Sedgwick docent—enthusiastic about and devoted to protecting and restoring local native oak tree populations, having personally planted and nurtured hundreds of oaks.