pile of dried swamp white oak leaves on the ground by conboy on iNaturalist

Swamp White Oak

Swamp White Oak is one of Kingston's more-than-human neighbours, a tree who has lived in the Carolinian Forest of southwestern Ontario since the glaciers retreated. Climate is asking them to migrate north. Many of their Carolinian kin — Pawpaw, Tulip Tree, Sassafras, Spicebush, and the warblers and fungi who travel with them — need human hands to carry them past Toronto and the 401. These kin cards are an invitation to get to know them: who they live in relation with, their gifts, and what they're asking of us.

Swamp White Oak kin card

Swamp White Oak hosts hundreds of caterpillar species, including Juvenal's Duskywing who feeds only on Oaks. Blue Jay caches the acorns kilometres away, planting new forests. After the ice age, they helped Oak migrate north. Mycorrhizal Fungi link their roots to plant kin, carrying carbon, water, nutrients, and warnings. As they age, their hollows become homes for Wood Duck, Screech-Owl, squirrel, and bat. Trees planted this year become the neighbourhood cavities of 2175.

Swamp White at the planning table

What sustains them, what they give to this place, what threatens them, and what a workable Biodiversity Action Plan looks like from where they stand. This season, this decade, this century.

Get to know Swamp White Oak. Return through the seasons. Record what you observe on iNaturalist.

Notice: In May, watch for catkins releasing pollen. Notice who visits. Look closely for galls of every shape: spangle galls, oak apple galls, jumping galls. Each shape is a different wasp's home. In winter, watch for Chickadee opening the galls. Look for Juvenal's Duskywing in May, Banded Hairstreak in June and July.

Act: Plant Swamp White Oak in groves of three to five. To pollinate, they need other oaks nearby. Plant soft landings beneath their canopy so their roots can breath and drink and so the caterpillars have a place to overwinter. 

Kingston is drafting a Biodiversity Action Plan. Pin a place that matters to Swamp White Oak.

Get involved: Little Forests Kingston is growing. We're looking for people who want to build relationships with the land and tend them over time. Forest Stewards, Neighbourhood Weavers, Community Scientists, Seed Keepers and more. You don't need to arrive knowing everything. Do any of these roles call to you?