LAGUNA BEACH : Oak Tree Restoration Project to Take Root

Volunteers will plant hundreds of trees in Laguna Canyon today as an environmental group launches a project to restore the area’s oak groves.

Laguna Greenbelt Inc. has sent thousands of flyers announcing the effort, including 1,500 to schools, board member Johanna Felder said. The group expects help from all segments of the community, from Cub Scout troops to business people.

“We’re hoping that we have a big response,” Felder said. “We have over 600 trees to plant.”

The flyer says 100 years of cattle grazing has prevented oak seedlings from maturing. The Oak Grove Restoration Project was begun last year when acorns were gathered, planted in containers and nurtured at the horticulture department at Cal State Fullerton, the flyer says.

Felder said 300 trees were nurtured that way and another 300 were donated by a local landscape architect.

Laguna Greenbelt has been encouraging people to buy trees, which cost about $15 apiece, and join the planters between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Volunteers will meet at a parking lot on the west side of Laguna Canyon Road, about 500 feet south of El Toro Road. Bring gardening gloves and a shovel, Felder said.

Information: (714) 497-9827.