Each fall, acorns cover Virginia’s forests, yards, parking lots and sidewalks. However, most of these acorns won’t grow into trees. That’s where you and the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) come in.
Every fall, DOF encourages Virginians to help collect acorns and nuts to be planted at our Augusta Nursery. Through statewide collection efforts, our nurseries plant more trees, of more species, from varied genetics. The resulting seedlings are then sold to Virginia landowners, typically to reforest
open lands.
“Last year, we saw incredible donation numbers,” said State Forester Rob Farrell. “Thanks to collection efforts by Virginians last fall, we pulled in eight tons of acorns and nuts, enough to potentially produce 1.5 million seedlings. This represents the largest year-to-year increase we’ve ever seen – about 400
percent over 2021 collection efforts. Help us continue these positive trends by collecting acorns for the Virginia Department of Forestry so we can collectively grow the forests we all enjoy.
Donating your acorns is a huge help to us, is a great outdoor activity and provides the perfect outdoor classroom to learn more about Virginia trees.”
Acorn drop-off details and locations.
Please drop off acorns at any DOF office location by Oct. 16. To find your local office, visit the Find a Forester tool on DOF’s website. While our collection guidelines remain primarily the same year to year, the specific species we prioritize does fluctuate.
