OAKtober Events
Throughout the month of October and across the Chicago region, partners of the Arboretum’s urban and community forestry program, the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, host events that celebrate oaks, inspire a love for trees, and educate the next generation of tree professionals.
CRTI partners are community organizations, park districts and forest preserves, tree care companies, and conservation group that are committed to working together to improving the regional forest
Browse the CRTI Partner Events calendar to find OAKtober events near you.
If you’re hosting your own event and would like to add your OAKtober event to the calendar, please submit your event to the Chicago Region Trees Initiative.
OAKtober Conference: Oak Ecosystem Recovery Plan
CRTI’s Oak Ecosystem Recovery Project is hosting a public workshop on Thursday, October 4, looking back on the project’s 10 year history of protecting oaks in the Chicago region. This public event will gather feedback and community input on the next version of the project’s Oak Ecosystem Recovery Project.
Fall Color Festival
Throughout the month of October, the Arboretum also celebrates the magic of the fall season with the Fall Color Festival. Special events, seasonal concessions, and kid-friendly programs are highlighted throughout the month. Celebrate trees by visiting the Arboretum during October and enjoy the changing colors of the Arboretum’s tree collections and woodlands during the following public events.
- Cider and Ale Festival, Saturday, October 5
- Glass Pumpkin Patch, Friday, October 11, through Sunday, October 13
- Fall Color 5K Run and Walk, Saturday, October 26
Classes at the Arboretum
The Morton Arboretum offers opportunities to learn about and appreciate our native trees and ecosystems through engaging, expert-led classes and workshops related to trees, nature, art, and wellness. In October, the following classes are available.
- Forest Therapy Walks, weekends throughout October
- Guided Hike of The Morton Arboretum’s Trails, Saturday, October 19
- Basic Tree Identification, Thursday, October 24
Children and Family Programs
Bring the little ones to enjoy the fall colors and inspire a love of oaks and trees. The Arboretum’s Children’s Garden is a 4-acre outdoor play space that features giant acorns, discovery gardens, and many accessible and fun ways to get kids out into nature. Special programs are happening this October in the Children’s Garden.
- Little Acorns, for children ages 18 to 35 months on Monday, October 7, or Monday, October 20
- Forest Friends, for children ages 3 to 5 years on Wednesday, October 9, or Thursday, October 20
- Curiosity Woods Forest Play Program, for children ages 3 to 6 years, meets six times throughout October
Oaks in Your Community
Oaks are an important part of the Chicago regional forest, providing benefits to people and ecosystems alike. Oaks are a keystone species that supports the biodiversity of our native forests and offer shade and appeal to urban landscapes.
But oaks need our help. Oaks face numerous threats from pests, diseases, improper tree care, drought, and damage.
You can help the oaks in your community by helping record and map the trees in your neighborhood, joining a volunteer effort near you, or by caring for oaks in your yard.
Canopy Counts Program
Through the Canopy Counts Program, you can record and track oaks and other trees in your community to help your local government and community organizations understand how to care for and where to plant trees.
Oak Ecosystem Recovery Project
The Chicago Region Trees Initiative, the Arboretum’s urban and community forestry program, leads the Oak Ecosystem Recovery Project to protect and preserve native oak trees and their ecosystems.
Become a Tree Ambassador
By joining the Our Roots Chicago’s Tree Ambassador Program, community groups in Chicago can receive training and tools to identify where trees should be planted in their community and request trees be planted through the city’s CHI 311 app.
Speak Up for Trees
Oaks and other urban trees need your help. By raising awareness for trees in your community, encouraging your elected officials to protect trees and ensure their proper care, or by joining a community group near you to advocate and plant trees, you can make a difference for trees and for the regional forest.
Oaks at the Arboretum
The Morton Arboretum is a champion of oaks. The Arboretum’s research and conservation programs prioritize oaks and their ecosystems. The tree collections and natural areas found at the Arboretum offer a breathtaking look at the diversity and beauty of oak trees and the ecosystems they support.
Oak Collection
The Morton Arboretum is a living museum of trees and plants. The Oak Collection, located on the Arboretum’s East Side, includes nearly 200 living trees, including both native trees and species from Asia and Europe.
Seventeen of the 21 oak species that are native to Illinois are growing in this collection, including the white oak, Illinois’ state tree and a symbol of Midwestern history.
The collection, near Parking Lot 8, spreads across 12 acres that were an oak-dominated woodland before European settlement. Botanic Gardens Conservation International has named this the most significant collection of oaks among 198 botanical institutions worldwide.
East Woods and Oak Woodlands
Just beyond the Oak Collection, the Arboretum’s East Woods is an immersive example of a well-managed and restored native oak woodland. This vibrant ecosystem includes many stunning and magnificent oak trees as well as many other plants and animals found in native oak ecosystems. Throughout the fall, the changing colors of the tree canopy provide a brilliant highlight to the importance and beauty of oaks.
Thriving oak woodlands and majestic oak trees can be found throughout The Morton Arboretum. Near the Visitor Center on the East Side and in the natural areas, forests, and savannahs of the Arboretum’s West Side, mature oak trees provide shade and inspiration for guests through all seasons.
By visiting the Arboretum’s tree collections, gardens, and natural areas, guests can be immersed and surrounded by the majesty and beauty of oak trees in many different environments.
A Common Garden of Oak Trees
In research plots not accessible to the public, researchers at The Morton Arboretum are conducting a five-year study on bur oak trees to understand their growth habits and adaptability to changing environments. The study involved planting over 1,300 bur oak seedlings in different “common garden” locations in Illinois, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. Results from each garden are shared and analyzed to see how these trees adapt to different climates.
This is just one example of the research conducted at the Arboretum’s Center for Tree Science that not only helps us better understand, cultivate, and protect oak trees, but also provides valuable knowledge and techniques that can be applied to other tree species.
Oaks around the World
Oaks are a keystone species in ecosystems around the world, supporting a wide variety of biodiversity. The Morton Arboretum’s Global Tree Conservation Program, in collaboration with the Global Conservation Consortium for Oak, is working to identify and prioritize conservation efforts to save the world’s oaks in biodiversity hotspots.
Conservation Gap Analyses of Oaks
The Arboretum’s Global Tree Conservation program along with its partners produced a landmark report documenting the conservation gaps of oak trees in the United States with an upcoming report to be published focused on native oak trees Mesoamerica. The findings and recommendations of these reports help inspire action to protect threatened oak trees and to inform the conservation efforts of environmental groups working on the ground with local community members.
Saving the Endangered Arroyo Oak
The Global Tree Conservation Program worked with local conservation groups in Baja California Sur, Mexico, to save the arroyo oak, Quercus brandegeei, an endangered, narrowly endemic oak tree. You can learn about the collaborative conservation efforts and the growing threats to endangered oak trees in the documentary video produced by the Arboretum.
Global Conservation Consortium of Oak
The Global Conservation Consortium for Oak (GCCO) was established in 2019 and is led by The Morton Arboretum and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). The GCCO is a coordinated network of institutions and experts who work collaboratively to develop and implement a comprehensive conservation strategy to prevent the extinction of the world’s oak species.
Support the Arboretum’s Work to Protect the World’s Oaks
The Morton Arboretum is working regionally and globally with community organizations to care for the oak trees in their communities and to protect threatened ecosystems in biodiversity hotspots. When you visit the Arboretum, or when you become a member, you support the Arboretum’s vision of a greener, healthier, more beautiful world where people and trees thrive together.
Resources for Oaks
Partners of the Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative produce and share toolkits, resources, and management plans to help arborists and residents plant and care for oak trees.
Basic Growing Requirements for Your Oak Trees
The Land Conservancy of McHenry County provides advice for homeowners on growing and caring for oak trees.
Best Management Practices: Oak Ecosystem Restoration, Regeneration, and Maintenance
This guide from CRTI’s Oak Ecosystem Recovery Project was developed to assist private landowners to preserve and manage native oak woodlands, conserve wildlife habitats, and protect the plants and wildlife unique to oak ecosystems.
Common Oaks of the Chicago Region
The Field Museum’s field guide can help you identify the leaves of the Chicago region’s oaks.
How to Grow an Oak Tree from an Acorn
Riverwoods Preservation Council shows how growing your own oak trees from acorns can be an easy and effective way to produce strong, healthy specimens to add back into your garden. It also provides children with a great opportunity to learn about a tree’s life cycle and the role that they can play in enabling this natural cycle. This activity is great to begin in the early fall.
Natural Areas Conservation Training (N-ACT) Program
The Morton Arboretum’s in-depth training and certification program in natural areas restoration gives participants knowledge and practical experience necessary to care for natural woodlands, prairies, wetlands, and other habitats of the Chicago region.
The Chicago Wilderness Alliance is leading a coordinated recovery effort to preserve, restore, and expand oak ecosystems across the region. The Oak Ecosystem Recovery Plan outlines regional goals to preserve, restore, and expand oak ecosystems across the region.
The Land Conservancy of McHenry County’s Oak Keeper Project addresses the majority of the county’s remaining oaks, which are on private land, by training volunteers to maintain and educate landowners to plant and protect oak trees.
This brochure from the Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative shares ways that homeowners, landowners, and individuals can create a better future for oak trees.
This informational webpage from the Riverwoods Preservation Council) provides details on the species commonly found in the Chicago region.
The Morton Arboretum’s Plant Clinic is a leading source of science-based advice about trees, plants, and landscapes. Visits, phone calls, and emails are welcome.
The Land Conservancy of McHenry County founded Project Quercus to explore options to protect, preserve, and regenerate the oak woodlands. The project is a diverse coalition that brings together public, private, government, corporate, and nonprofit interests, working collaboratively to create solutions to the problem of oak woodland loss.
