ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Tired of car tires and lawnmowers crunching over acorns this fall? Consider bagging them up instead.
That’s one way to help the effort led by Tomorrow’s Trees, which collects nuts and seeds from native trees in Maryland and Virginia for planting at the states’ tree nurseries.
The Potomac Conservancy has been coordinating seed collections since 2001 to help the Chesapeake Bay region reach ambitious tree-planting goals. Formerly called Growing Native, the program was rebranded as Tomorrow’s Trees in 2022. The effort gained even more ground in 2023 — a “mast year,” during which several species of trees produced bumper crops of fruit and nuts.
Mindy Kania, program manager for Tomorrow’s Trees, said they collected more than 3,100 pounds of seeds last year. The seeds are donated to foresters who run tree nurseries in Maryland and Virginia, where deforestation due to development and other factors continues to impact water quality in the Potomac River watershed.
Residents and volunteers in those states can help by gathering seeds and nuts from their own properties or by participating in a handful of events for gathering the goods on public lands. Seed collection season typically begins mid-September. Virginia will accept collections until Oct. 15 and Maryland until Oct. 25 this year.
Seeds from dozens of native tree species are accepted, and collection wish lists vary by state. Maryland participants can gather seed pods from dogwoods and Eastern redbuds, for example, while Virginia’s Department of Forestry accepts black walnut seeds along with hazelnuts and others. Both states are looking to receive acorns from white oaks and several other oak species.
This year, the program has 17 locations where collected seeds can be dropped off. Seeds should be collected in dry paper or burlap bags or in bags provided by Tomorrow’s Trees, with one type of tree seeds per bag. The most important instruction, Kania said, relates to quality control. The seeds must be whole and in good condition.
“If it has a sprout, hole or crack, then throw it back,” she said.
For instructions on how to collect seeds and where to drop them off, or to learn about upcoming events, visit tomorrows-trees.org/collect-seeds.