U of T students gather White Oak acorns at Queen's Park in an effort to preserve native trees | CBC News

"Eric Davies, a forest ecologist at the University of Toronto, led a group of undergraduate students in the university's foresters club as they gathered about six litres of acorns from a tree in Queen's Park North, one of four remaining large White Oaks in the park. White Oaks, a common deciduous tree species in North America, are the largest and oldest trees in the green spaces outside the Ontario Legislature. "This tree in particular is one of the oldest remaining white oaks at Queens Park," Davies said said, pointing to a massive tree behind him. "It's a beautiful long-lived tree.""

"Davies said timing is key, as White Oaks produce acorns about once every five to 10 years this year being one of them. "This is a keystone species that we want to get, but our opportunity to collect them is very infrequent. We're lucky this year in 2025 to have a good crop of acorns.""

"Davies said the students will donate most of the acorns to the City of Toronto's tree seed diversity program in the next two weeks. Some of the acorns will be kept at U of T to be grown there, he added. The program, which involves collecting seeds from native tree species, is designed to "enhance the genetic diversity" of natural spaces in Toronto, according to Forests Canada, a national charity. Davies said the White Oak tree is "really important to the ecology of Toronto and a really important tree to get into the tree seed diversity program.""

University of Toronto forestry students collected about six litres of acorns from a large White Oak in Queen's Park North. The collected tree is one of four remaining large White Oaks in the park and is among the oldest. White Oaks produce acorns only about once every five to ten years, and 2025 is a strong production year. Most acorns will be donated to the City of Toronto's tree seed diversity program, with some held at U of T for propagation. Forests Canada will help distribute seed to nurseries across Ontario to enhance genetic diversity and urban ecology.

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