Book Report: The Orphan Tsunami of 1700
Author Brian Atwater et al; book report by Brian Giles A mysterious tsunami in January of 1700 occurs on the coasts and harbors of Japan. Mysterious because there was no causative earthquake that anyone noticed. It was so odd that many of the locals responsible for record keeping put in writing the complete strangeness of this occurrence. [...]
Planting Garry Oaks at Whidbey Island Schools
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 the Whidbey Camano Land [...]
Planting Garry Oaks at Deception Pass State Park
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 very appreciative of the [...]
Smith Park Listed on the Washington Heritage Register
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 presented the nomination which [...]
Book Report: David Douglas, A Naturalist at Work
Author Jack Nisbet; book report by Brian Giles The cover of this work shows a Garry oak branch with two acorns. The author noted that Douglas wasn’t enamored of naming the plants he discovered, but the exception was possibly his favorite discovery, the Garry oak, named after friend Nicholas Garry, a Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company.Douglas himself is [...]
Giant Acorn Sculpture Unveiled Downtown
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 1684. Later, an ad [...]