Forest Medicine
From the Sherwood Forest to the Whidbey Institute
Two years ago, Patricia and I received a package in the mail from a dear friend who had moved from Seattle to Syracuse,NY. Upon opening the box, we were thrilled to find two beautiful acorns, (see pic above) accompanied by a note explaining their incredible pedigree. They had been collected at the base of a historic English oak tree (Quercus robur) growing near her home on the campus of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
As it turns out, that New York tree has quite the genealogy. It is the direct offspring of the famous Major Oak in England's Sherwood Forest—the legendary, ancient hideout of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. The campus tree is so profoundly loved by its students and faculty that the college's official mascot is "Oakie the Acorn." Really!
Patricia carefully potted the two acorns in the fall of 2024 and moved them into our greenhouse. The following spring, one of them germinated, sending a bright green shoot up through the soil.
Today, that little seedling is two years old (see pic below) and happily growing in a pot in the Westgarden here at the Whidbey Institute. Stop by and check it out and while you're at it, say Hi to dee and see all the amazing life she is cultivating in the greenhouse and garden.
Sinking Deep Roots into the Heartland
While it is doing well in its pot, oak trees naturally develop massive taproots, so it needs to be planted directly into the earth where its root system can grow entirely unconstrained. That move will happen this winter while the young tree is in its seasonal dormancy. We plan to select a planting site somewhere on the Heartland, giving it the vast amount of space it will need for the centuries to come. Its grandparent in Sherwood Forest boasts a 92-foot-wide canopy and an 11.5-foot trunk diameter!
A Poignant New Beginning
The timing of moving our seedling into the earth feels incredibly poignant. Just last month, in June 2026, conservationists in England shared the news that the original, 1,000-year-old Major Oak had died. After a millennium of standing watch over history, the ancient giant failed to leaf out this spring.
As the grandparent tree begins its slow, natural return to the forest floor in Nottinghamshire, its direct genetic lineage is waking up right here in the Pacific Northwest. Because the mother tree in New York caught windblown pollen from a native white oak, our seedling is a hybrid of English and American white oaks.
When we plant it in the Heartland this winter, we are anchoring a living thread of history that will hopefully inspire generations on this island for the next thousand years!
Check out Oakie the Acorn here:
https://share.google/s4QLRj0td5r0If83n
Read about the Major Oak here:
https://www.esf.edu/news/2026/robin_hood_oak_carries_major_oak_legacy.php
If Larry's story has inspired you, you want to go check out the production of Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest, playing at the Island Shakespeare Festival this summer!