Did you know that oak trees used to cover over 10 million acres in California, but today these magnificent trees are rapidly decreasing? More than 300 mammals and birds, and some 5,000 insects, depend on them for survival, and Californians depend on them to form the basis of watersheds that protect the drinking water of millions.

People have always had a close connection with the oak tree. Over two centuries ago, the Declaration of Independence was written with ink made from Oak galls – swollen round growths found on leaves, twigs and branches. During that same time and two millennium before then, acorns, the fruit of the oak tree, were a dietary staple for the Maidu, the people of the Northern California foothills. The Maidu tended to groves of oak trees to maximize the production of acorns, and the large quantity they produced made it possible for them to store them for hard times, using their basket weaving skills to build acorn granaries.

If you want try your hand at writing with oak gall ink, learn more about our oaks, how to preserve them and take oak galls home to make your own ink, visit Placer Nature Center on Saturday, September 11, 2010 anytime between 11am and 2 pm.

Learn how to identify the eight species of California oaks, with special consideration to those in Placer County. For those Oaks not found at the Placer Nature Center, there will be fresh specimens to examine. Information on growing and caring for oak trees will also be available.

Also open for exploration will be the Nature Center’s Main Exhibit Hall and WaterShed Learning Center, Discovery Lab, Maidu Village, Demonstration Garden and The Nature Shop.

The Placer Nature Center is a nonprofit organization open to the public offering family hiking trails and programs for children, youths and adults. Programs for all-ages include monthly Family Days, astronomy classes, environmental lectures and seasonal workshops. PNC also runs on-site and off-site educational programs for school groups. To date Placer Nature Center has served over 180,000 students and 200 teachers.

Placer Nature Center is located at 3700 CHristian Valley Road off of Dry Creek in Auburn. The center is at the very end of the road, sharing the campus with the California COnservation Corps. For information please visit www.placernaturecenter.org or call 530-878-6053.

Written By Katherine Osgood, Placer Nature Center Volunteer Blogger