Natural History Wanderings

Who’s Who among the Oaks?
A free talk by author and naturalist Kate Marianchild  sponsored by CNPS, Sanhedrin chapter.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
7:00 – 8:30 pm.
Zoom: https://cnps-org.zoom.us/j/99846630931
Meeting ID: 998 4663 0931

Have you ever wondered what kinds of oaks dot California’s hills and line our fertile valleys, providing our state’s most wildlife-rich habitats? Well, help is at hand. In a talk filled with humor and fun memory aids, author and naturalist Kate Marianchild will teach us to identify northern California’s oaks by their acorns, cups, leaves, and galls. With acorns in hand, you will learn how to distinguish a valley oak from an Oregon oak and a canyon live oak from a coast live oak. Kate will also share some cool facts about oaks, including their co-evolutionary relationships with California scrub-jays and caterpillars. The one-hour talk will be followed by Q&A.

Kate is a naturalist, speaker, and the author of Secrets of the Oak Woodlands: Plants and Animals among California’s Oaks. She is also the author of Identifying the Common Oaks of Northern and Central California, a two-sided, full-color laminated oak identification field guide available for purchase on her website. Kate currently leads walks, gives talks, teaches classes, and advocates for oak woodland conservation.

If you plan on attending this talk, please collect acorns and caps from as many oak species as possible before the talk. Keep acorns and caps together (you could glue caps to the acorns if you wish). Also please bring to the talk several sheets of paper and a writing implement.