Napa County RCD relys on volunteers like you to help us collect native oak acorns. 

Each fall, RCD collects, plants, and distribute acorns from local native oak trees in a community effort to re-oak Napa County. 

To volunteer, keep an eye out for acorns on your property or other properties that you have access to. Review this Acorn Collection Fact Sheet to learn how to tell good acorns (those that have a good chance of germinating) from bad.

Some general tips for collecting viable acorns:

·     Acorns must be fully matured and brown

·     We only accept acorns from native oak species collected in Napa County

·     Acorn shell should be intact with no small holes or large cracks 

·     Acorns should not rattle when you shake them

·     Store acorns in a refrigerator if you are holding for more than 1 – 2 days. 

For our projects, we need acorns from:

·     Valley oak  (Quercus lobata) 

·     Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia)

·     Blue oak (Quercus douglasii)

·     Black oak (Quercus kelloggii)

Review our Four Common Oaks for tips on how to identify native oaks.

Still not sure what kind of oak you have? Take some photos and share them with us! Close-up photos of the leaves and photos of the whole tree and acorns are most helpful for identification.

Bag your acorns in a plastic or paper bag. Include a few leaves from the tree for identification. Fill out this Data Sheet and bring it to our office (1303 Jefferson Street, Suite 500B) with the acorns.

Questions? Contact Ashley@NapaRCD.org or 707-690-3117

Find more information at the Napa County RCD webpage.