Community Partnerships

The City of Oak Harbor has been a significant Society partner from the very start. We have planted Garry oak trees alongside city staff and community volunteers at the Centennial Oak Grove, Windjammer Park, Freund Marsh, and many more parks far and wide! The city owns hundreds of Garry oak trees including the emerald jewel of historic downtown Oak Harbor, Smith Park.

Whidbey Camano Land Trust owns some of the most incredible private preserves and parks on the islands. We have been fortunate to partner with the land trust on planting native Garry oaks at the Del Fairfax Preserve and the Strawberry Point Preserve, both located outside of Oak Harbor, and provided acorns for the restoration of the Keystone Preserve south of Coupeville. These three preserves provide a safe and protected landscape for the trees to grow into maturity. We look forward to planting more Garry oaks in partnership with the land trust!

The Garry Oak Society has partnered with the Pacific Rim Institute to provide Garry oak seedlings for planting on their Garry oak savannah. They have been a wonderful partner to work with on a wide range of issues related to Garry oaks and their ecosystems on Whidbey Island. In support of our native species restoration efforts including at Smith Park, PRI has been most generous in sharing native flowers, grasses, shrubs, and their extensive knowledge.

The Society has partnered with Oak Harbor Public Schools with several student-involved Garry oak plantings on school grounds, and provided Garry oak books and learning materials to every public school in Oak Harbor! The society typically provides a college scholarships to a senior at Oak Harbor High School who is also a Garry Oak Society Member. A long-range goal of the Society is the official incorporation of Garry oak education into OHPS curriculum.

The Garry Oak Society and Hillcrest Elementary have for years partnered with Washington State Parks to provide Garry oak seedlings for planting at Joseph Whidbey State Park in their Garry oak savanna. This is part of Hillcrest Elementary’s award-winning Green Apple Day of Service to our community. 

The Whidbey Conservation District has been a strong encourager since our inception, providing the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society with young saplings for our first Arbor Day planting, and many beautiful native plants including madrona, fir, rhodies, and native strawberries. WCD is one of our go-to entities for questions or concerns about native plantings around our locale.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WA DNR) manages millions of acres of land within our state, including special areas that contain rare prairie Garry oak woodlands. WA DNR grant funding was instrumental in launching a tree mapping project in Oak Harbor which eventually became the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society’s Sound Oaks Initiative. WA DNR publishes the Tree Link Newsletter, an excellent resource for all landowners that have trees on their properties. In the June 2020 edition they featured the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society in their newsletter.

Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is host to hundreds of acres of natural areas, including Oak Crest – the last remaining, intact Garry Oak savannah on North Whidbey. The Garry Oak Society has formed a strong partnership with the Navy which has resulted in many Garry oak planting projects and critical environmental stewardship aboard NAS Whidbey.