Land Conservancy Offers Workshops for People with Oak Trees

The Land Conservancy of McHenry County (TLC) is hosting a series of classes in August and September designed to teach landowners about their oak ecosystems and how to care for them.

Oak woodlands were once abundant in McHenry County, but cover just 4 percent of the landscape today. Since most of the remaining oak woods are on private property, TLC began Oak Keeper training in 2008 to offer practical solutions to landowners and other people who want to help these habitats.

The first class, on August 24, is Site Assessment. In the class each participant will receive an 1872 survey map of their land to learn the history of their property, including its soil, topography and the potential the site may hold.

Other classes include: Tree & Shrub Identification, where participants will learn to identify the most common native and non-native woodland species; Savanna Stories, where participants will hear the stories of local landowners who have restored their own oak woods, big and small, and Work-a-Woodland where participants get to put their new oak keeping skills to work in a hands-on way.

Those who attend at least three classes can earn an Oak Keepers certificate, a 6-month membership to TLC, an Oak Keepers hat or t-shirt and other benefits. The Oak Keepers series of workshops is $35 for TLC members and $50 for nonmembers. For more information about the Oak Keepers series of workshops, visit www.ConserveMC.org or contact Sarah Michehl at smichehl@conservemc.org.

The Land Conservancy of McHenry County is a member-based private nonprofit dedicated to preserving natural, scenic and agricultural land.