This past winter, the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society has been busy planting on campuses around Whidbey Island! Planting locations have included North Whidbey Middle School near the Swirling Leaves Sculpture, the Oak Harbor Christian School, and the Coupeville School District property near the Farm to School fields. Additionally, we provided Garry oak acorns to [...]
On November 15th, 2025, twenty-one volunteers from Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society and the community at large converged on Deception Pass State Park to plant twenty-five Garry Oak seedlings in protective cages. This labor-intensive activity was the first step in the park’s plan to revegetate portions of the large field east of Pass Lake. OHGOS is [...]
After over three years of work researching, writing, and advocating, Smith Park, the emerald jewel of historic downtown Oak Harbor, has now been officially listed on the Washington Heritage Register! At the September 1st, 2023 meeting of the Washington State Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), Kyle Renninger of the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society [...]
The story behind the Giant Acorn art piece began with the loss of the Grand Old Oak, cut down in Oak Harbor at the site of the Post Office in 2014. At the time of its demise, a tree ring count determined this revered community asset and landmark oak had been growing since the year [...]
Baby Garry oaks now grace the meadows of North Whidbey's newest conservation area, Whidbey Camano Land Trust's Strawberry Point Preserve! Volunteers braved rain, sun, and summer-hardened soils to get 12 baby oaks in the ground all grown from our own local acorns. Thank you members, volunteers, donors, and partners. It takes the entire ecosystem of [...]
Our newest Garry oak interpretive sign has been installed in Windjammer Park! Come down and check it out! It's located beneath one of the mature Garry oaks in the park near the flag pole. The sign depicts pre-settlement Oak Harbor, shares about the importance of Garry oaks to our community, and includes a map of [...]
The Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society (OHGOS) featured a talk on Golden Paintbrush, Castilleja levisecta, by Dr. Robert K. Pelant of Pacific Rim Institute. The talk took place during the January 2021 general meeting of the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society, a 501c3 nonprofit in Oak Harbor working to steward Garry oak ecosystems on Whidbey Island. [...]
Names reveal much about a place. The recent honorary co-naming of SE 8th Ave. as “Avenue of the Oaks”, is a wonderful partnership between the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society and City of Oak Harbor that recognizes a stunning avenue with some of the Garry oak features that define our City’s name and sense of place.
In this presentation at the December 2020 Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society Meeting we hear from Dr. Fred Rhoades, retired biology instructor at WWU. Dr. Rhoades introduces us to the lichens found in Garry oak communities. He describes their biology, human uses, and some common lichen species found in this Garry oak habitat in the [...]
With summer season behind us, we welcome the thought of colorful leaves falling and brisk autumn mornings. The acorns are just beginning to fall from local Garry oaks. OHGOS is excited to announce our new video, produced by Jaya Flanary, titled "How to Eat Acorns". Whether or not you are considering urban foraging, this short [...]
