Oak trees are known for being large and majestic. The Conejo Valley is home to many of these great trees. In fact, one city's namesake in the Conejo Valley came from these trees, Thousand Oaks.
There are over 600 species of oaks but the Conejo Valley is home to two species in abundance: the Coast Live Oak and the Valley Oak. These two trees can be found growing in nearly every park, trail, and along neighborhood sidewalks. Both of these species can live to be over 200 hundred years old!
Oaks are very important to wildlife because many creatures depend on them for food and housing. The oak trees in our area were also very useful to the Chumash Indians, who were the first group of people to call the Conejo Valley home.
Coast Live Oaks have shiny, prickly leaves that are evergreen. Evergreen means they are "forever green" or green throughout the year. When the leaves get very dry, they roll up and fall off the tree. The Coast Live Oak can grow to be up to 80 feet tall and 35 feet wide.
Valley Oaks have large, flat leaves that are fuzzy on one side. The Valley Oaks is deciduous which means their leaves turn yellow in the fall and fall to the ground. The Valley Oak is very special because it is only found in the central coastal areas of California.
Where in the Conejo can you find an oak tree?
In a city where the logo includes an oak tree, you can assume that finding one is not that hard. In fact, you may even have one in your own yard! That being said, our family still enjoys spotting majestic oaks around the city. One of our favorite spots to sit and observe both the Valley Oak and the Coast Live Oak is at Sapwi Trails. Along the trail that begins at the playground, you can actually find Coast Live Oaks and Valley Oaks growing right next to each other!
Sapwi Trails Community Park
2100 Scenicpark St. Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
OAK TREE SUPER POWERS
Oak Trees are very important to our ecosystem. They provide many things, including:
- making oxygen for us to breathe
- being homes to animals
- providing food for animals
- filtering air and removing pollution
- providing shade during hikes
A Red Cone Gall Wasp will sometimes lay her eggs inside oak leaves. When a larva hatches and begins to eat the leaf, the tree uses hormones to create a little cone to protect its leaves. Each little red cone has one wasp living inside. The catch is the cone actually protects the wasp as well. Once the wasp larva pupates, it will emerge as a full-grown wasp and the tree will be relatively unharmed. Nature is amazing!
DO YOU LIKE TREES?
If you like to study the history of trees, you are called a dendrologist. If you like to grow trees or shrubs, you are called an aborculturist. It you like to maintain and care for trees, you are called an arborist.
FREE DOWNLOADABLE TREE OBSERVATION LESSON
Outdoor Families Magazine offers a free Jr. Naturalist Tree Observation lesson plan loaded with activities that promote movement and song, reading, and critical thinking. View the week-long Tree Observation lesson plan, field notes worksheet, and tree anatomy dissection worksheet below, or download it for free by clicking on the link here: https://outdoorfamiliesonline.com/tree-observation-lesson-plan/
Oak Tree Humor Q: What's an Acorn? A: It's an Oak Tree in a nutshell
Let's Play "Which Tree Am I?" If you find yourself in a place where there are lots of trees, pick one person to pose like a specific tree. Everyone else has to guess which tree they are posing like. Kinda like “Charades” meets “I Spy”. Super fun and a great activity for kiddos on a hike!
Ages: Prek
"Little Acorn Grows Up" by Edward Gibbs
Ages: K-3
"Because of an Acorn" by Lola M. Schaefer and Adam Schaefer
"As an Oak Tree Grows" by Brian Karas
Our local libraries are currently closed but do offer curbside pickup. Visit tolibrary.org for more information.
The growth of a tree takes place so slowly that, in real time, it's impossible to observe. British filmmaker Neil Bromhall decided to speed up the eight-month process of an acorn becoming an oak with timelapse photography.
Fun Fact: It takes an oak tree 20 years before it is mature enough to produce an acorn.
BEWARE OF LEAVES OF THREE! When observing trees, be sure to stay on the trails because sometimes growing in the shade of an oak tree is a bush called Poison Oak! This plant resembles the Valley Oak but instead of each leaf having its own stem, it grows its leaves in groups of three.
Remember the poem: When you see "Leaves of Three" Let them be!
ARE YOU AN EDUCATOR? If you would like this information in a format you can distribute to your class, let's chat! Email Christina at naturekidsactivities@gmail.com
THIS IS A CLUB SO LET'S SHARE OUR ADVENTURES! This week, share your oak tree pictures using the hashtag: #CONEJOVALLEYNATURECLUB
