Williston Oaks Project
A big thank you to Penderlea Farms for raising the Williston Oaks and teaching students about trees!
The Williston Oaks are a collection of mature oaks standing off the east side of 10th Street in front of the historic 1938 Williston High School building and its successor, the 1952 Williston High School building. Today, the former houses Gregory International School and the latter Williston Middle School. Based on historic photos, the largest of the oaks (planted between the two historic buildings and pictured above) was likely planted at or shortly after completion of the 1938 building and is approaching 90 years of age. The Willsion Oaks have been a prominent part of the campus and witness to much of Williston High School’s significant history.
The ultimate goal of this project is to recognize the significance of that history, tell its story, and build appreciation of this tree, and all trees, in the community. This project will culminate with the give-away of 200 “Williston Oaks” in the fall of 2025 or 2026 (Wilmington’s tree planting season runs from November to February). Thank you to the Willison Alumni Association for working with us on this project.
Project elements:
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Fall 2024: Harvest acorns from the Williston Oaks in conjunction with Penderlea Farms as part of an educational event with the two schools. Penderlea Farms harvests and cultivates the acorns of many notable Wilmington Oaks (the Airlie Oak, for example).
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Summer/Fall 2024: Research the history of the school and oaks in cooperation with the Williston Alumni Association and compose a narrative celebrating the Williston Oak and Williston High School’s history.
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Fall 2024: Nominate the main Williston Oak for Wilmington Heritage Tree status.
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Winter 2025: Planting/distribution event at the site of the Williston Oak or across the street at Robert Strange Pool (although these wouldn’t be the saplings from the Willison Oak mentioned above, we can give away/plant other trees, present the Williston Oak/High School history, teach about trees, and build excitement for the event the following year).
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Spring 2025: Potential tour of Penderlea Farms to see the Williston saplings being grown in their greenhouse. This could be an educational tour for students of Williston and/or Gregory and/or the general public.
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Fall/Winter 2025 or 26: Give away 200 1-gallon size Williston Oaks to the community at an event celebrating the tree and hopefully announcing its new status as a Heritage Tree.
If you have any questions about or suggestions for this project, please contact Dan Camacho, Executive Director of the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees, at dan@acftrees.org.
You canb keep up to date with the project by checking back with this page or subscribing to the Alliance's newsletter.
On October 17, 2024, Matt Sullivan's AIG class harvested acorns from one of the Williston Oaks. Williston Alumni Board member Sonja Green spoke about the history of Williston High School. Sam Outlaw from Penderlea Farms taught and led the acorn harvesting - and will manage their germination in Penderlea's Nursery.
Thank you to the Women's Impact Network for providing funds to support this project.