October 21, 2022
Just before my dad passed away, I asked him what kind of tree he wanted his ashes scattered beneath. He didn’t hesitate – he wanted us to plant an oak tree. Specifically, he wanted a “northern red oak” planted in our ravine. It seemed an odd request - to plant an oak tree in a forest filled with oaks, but he was very definitive, so I was happy to oblige. Technically, I could have swiped an acorn from an unsuspecting squirrel, dug a hole in the ground and called it a day. But finding the perfect tree gave me a mission and I was grateful for the distraction.
I searched all the local nurseries and only found one. Apparently there isn’t a big demand for native trees, much less a northern red oak. The one I did find was absolutely beautiful - but it was huge. It was 12 feet tall and had a 200-pound root ball. The spot he chose for his tree was too steep for my tractor to access so we had to carry it, and dig the hole, by hand. My dad had 5 children and for that one day, I wished there had been a few more, as it took all of us, most of the day, to get the tree up the hill.
The minister stopped by at one point to check on my mom and asked us if we needed anything. I tried to convince him to help move the tree but apparently, he was thinking something along the lines of spiritual guidance. Undaunted, we managed to clear a spot, dig a hole, plant the tree, and then, carrying buckets of water, we watered it well.
It’s been over 20 years and my dad’s tree is now more than 60 feet tall and still racing towards the canopy. It’ll probably be another 10 years before it really sees the full light of day. But even before it reaches its full grown glory, an oak tree offers its support to more life forms than any other tree in North America. It is, in large part, due to its commonness that the oak is such a nurturer - the insects, birds and mammals that call oak trees home co-evolved over millions of years together.
All the non-native plants and trees which I found in abundance in those nurseries that day, have leaves that carry chemical compounds that make them unpalatable to our local insect population, and without insects, they offer very little sustenance to our native and migratory bird populations.
Even among other native trees, the red oak is the penultimate host. A maple tree might give shelter to 200 varieties of insects but the oak hosts 550 types of caterpillars alone. It’s no wonder more birds prefer to nest in an oak than in any other type of tree! On the ground, hundreds of species of mammals depend on the protein rich acorns to get them through the winter. No other tree in North America supports nature’s food web like the oak. It capture’s more carbon, holds more water, and produces more oxygen than any other tree.
Considering all that an oak has to offer, and that my dad’s tree could very well live another 300 years, it just might be that his tree is the greatest legacy my father left behind.