You can and should celebrate the strength and stature oaks represent!

Our oaks, and trees in general, improve our well-being and support a sense of community. Every individual, organization, community, park district, forest preserve, and public or private landowner or manager can play an important role in celebrating oaks and oak ecosystems across Illinois throughout the month of October — OAKtober!

Oaktober is just one of the tools used by the Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative to educate the public about the value of Oak Ecosystems and what we can do to preserve and protect this important natural resource.

The following events are being hosted by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County during Oaktober

• 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Oct. 5 — Elburn Forest Preserve: Autumn Tree Identification; A “Learn from the Experts” program focusing on the use of growth habits and other tree features to identify a number of local tree species (including various oak trees)
• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 5 — Aurora public dock: Experience the Fox River via Kayak; A Naturalist-led exploration of the Fox River from Glenwood Park Forest Preserve to the Aurora public dock, with interpretation of the native woodlands (including oaks) and wildlife along the way
• 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 17 — Campton Forest Preserve: Trek with a Naturalist; Invigorating two-hour hike with a Naturalist through rolling mixed hardwood woodlands with moments of interpretation along the way
• 9:30 a.m. to 11a.m. Oct. 20 — Red Oak Nature Center: In Search of Giants: The Kane County Big Tree Program; A “Learn from the Experts” program that will teach participants how to appreciate, record and report the largest native trees in Kane County to be entered into the Kane County Big Tree Registry

If you would like to learn more about oak ecosystems visit the Morton Arboretum website: http://chicagorti.org/OakResources.

SOURCE: Chicago Region Trees Initiative news release