250 Acorns to Oaks Project Gets Underway
By Beth Griffin Matthews for the Rye Sustainability Committee
Mighty oaks will grow from tiny acorns– but they can always use a little help.
Enter 250 Acorns to Oaks, a new initiative that brings individuals and community groups together to replace and increase native oaks on public and private properties.
Organizer, Councilmember and former chair of the Rye Sustainability Committee James Ward stresses that oaks are the most important for the local biosphere. Considered “keystone” trees, oaks-can support as many as 450 species of insects, birds and small mammals.
250 Acorns to Oaks has collected acorns from Rye’s oldest trees -throughout the community and is now germinating them. The goal is to distribute one- to two-year-old saplings in 2026, a year which marks the Semi quincentennial of the United States. The goal is to have 250 saplings “adopted” and planted in the ground by local homeowners and the City of Rye, who will be stewarding their growth over the next five years. “By the time they are five years old, the trees will be able to take care of themselves”, Ward shared.
250 Acorns to Oaks collaborators include Friends of Rye Nature Center, the Little Garden Club of Rye, and Rye Sustainability Committee. The initiative is officially sponsored by The Rye Sustainability Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting sustainability in our community through education, actionable initiatives, and strategic partnerships. Ward has also aligned the initiative with Revolutionary Rye 250, a Rye Historical Society Committee focused on the enduring legacy of the American Revolution, as part of the upcoming semi quincentennial celebration.
The impetus for the idea of 250 Acorns to Oaks came while Ward was attending a talk by researcher, botanist, and oak enthusiast Doug Tallamy at the Jay Heritage Center last summer. Ward has had a lot of help getting the project off the ground. Sue Drouin, a local area landscape designer (see Going Native: Gardening with Fairspring’s Sue Drouin), and Jax Mack, Friends of Rye Nature Center’s Director of Conservation have been instrumental in getting this project off the ground.
The initiative became a family affair. Last October, Ward enlisted his talented brother-in-law to build four air bed pruning beds to support the acorns as they grow into young saplings. Four large containers were assembled so the oaks could grow through a method known as air pruning.
Two of the beds sit at Rye Nature Center while the other two are at Holy Child and Rye Country Day School. The beds at Rye Nature Center received their first batch of White Oak acorns in the fall. In late winter, all four beds will be seeded with their Red Oak companions. The idea is to get students as well as adults involved in the project so as to raise public awareness of the trees. As the project continues to progress, Ward hopes to keep the public updated.
The project has already attracted interest and participation from several local groups. “Community-building underlies this,” he said. “It’s meant to be inclusive, and we’d like to bring everybody behind this important cause.”
