On Sundays, August 17 and August 31, the Alameda Native History Project will host Acorn Harvest Training, a hands-on, field-based workshop rooted in Indigenous tradition and ecological stewardship.
Participants will learn to identify local oaks, distinguish between red and white oak by leaf shape, bark, and acorn characteristics, and understand the significance of mast years in acorn production. We will explore how acorns nourish entire ecosystems, not just people, and why respectful harvesting ensures that “all flourishing is mutual.”
This training is grounded in the Honorable Harvest, a principle passed through generations:
Take only what is freely given.
Never take more than you need.
Give thanks, and give back.
Our harvesting protocol reflects these values. We use low-impact wooden acorn tenders, tapping branches lightly. No climbing, pruning, or mechanical shakers. Only acorns released by gentle taps or natural fall are gathered, and our collective harvest is capped at less than 15 percent of the seasonal crop, well below ecologically safe limits. Viable acorns we do not keep are buried nearby, replenishing the seed bank and echoing the work of squirrels that help oak forests regenerate.
These sessions are not about extraction. They are about building a respectful, living relationship with the land. The work is grounded in Traditional Ecological Knowledge and supported by the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, which recognizes the importance of restoring Indigenous foodways as a living practice of cultural sovereignty and environmental stewardship.
People who signed up for the Indigenous Land Lab and the Acorn Harvest using our volunteer form received text messages with exclusive offers for free tickets. If you would like to join us on the harvest, and receive exclusive offers and special invitations such as private willow harvests and other events at the Indigenous Land Lab, sign up at https://nativehistoryproject.org/volunteer.
Space is limited for each session to ensure a meaningful and safe learning environment.
There we were, in the middle of a field on a hot, sunny, day, in Castro Valley. Today is the Willow Harvest. We’re gathering willow and bay leaf for Granary Construction at Centerville Library.
People always think gathering willow is the first step. The first step is really opening yourself up to this tree, to greet it and give thanks and your own offering. To stay focused on your intent, the reason why you’re here, and hope your ancestors will help guide you.
Reopening Indigenous Foodways is like removing dams. It’s like reseeding meadows with native grasses. Stewarding land in a reciprocal cycle of never ending gifts. Of salmon. Ancient grains. Acorns. Berries. Rooreh.
Acorn Granaries are traditional storage devices made using the natural materials. Acorns are placed in sacks, in granaries and stored over winter.
But first, you need to meet this willow tree, give it offerings, and ask it to let you gather some of it’s wonderful reeds for your acorn basket.
Than, once you’ve gathered and cleaned the willow, you use the poles, sticks, and reeds to build the granary.
Once the willow was gathered, we packed the truck and walked farther in, towards the Land Lab, to gather bay leaf from the bay trees.
We use the bay leaf as integrated pest management. To keep the bugs out of the acorns, and keep them from eating the granary itself.
Standing under the Bay Laurel, you can smell the eucalyptol in the leaves. Where we stripped the willow of its leaves to use its reeds; the leaves are what we need from the Bay Laurel tree. They will be woven in and out of the willow frame of the Acorn Granary.
After gathering the materials for the granary, we gathered in the shade of an oak tree. Enjoying the rest, and taking the opportunity to get to know each other more.
Strangers in the beginning, they brought food to share. Avocados. Chips. Dip Sandwiches. Snacks. Water.
We were supposed to end at 12pm, but we ended up parting ways around 2pm. The willow and bay leaf were delivered to the construction site. Willow soaked in water.
In two days, we would build an acorn granary at the Mini Acorn Festival.
We’re reconnecting with land, deepening relationships, and bringing more people into that process. The Alameda Native History Project is expanding its reach, partnering with libraries and organizations across Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara counties to support land-based learning and reopen Indigenous foodways that have been silenced, but never lost.
If you would like to partner with us, please take a minute to read and understand the Working With Us page before reaching out.
We are excited to be working with all of our new partners around the San Francisco Bay Area. And we look forward to announcing more events as we get further in to the harvest season.
Library Partnerships That Build More Than Granaries
This month, we’re collaborating with the Alameda County Library on two public events that center Indigenous knowledge and invite families, elders, and young people into relationship with the land.
On August 9, we’ll be at Centerville Library for the Acorn Mini Festival, a family-friendly gathering that includes crafts, games, and granary building. Participants will learn about acorns and oak trees while engaging in activities that reflect generations of care and connection. Acorns are the most important food stock for California Indigenous people. They’re a gift from the oaks, and they feed the land, the animals, and us.
Then on August 27, we’ll be at San Lorenzo Library to lead a hands-on Acorn Granary Workshop, where participants will help construct a traditional storage structure. These granaries are part of a food system that sustained Indigenous people through the winter and protected what the land had given. We’ll also share about harvesting practices, oak identification, and what it means to be part of this cycle today. A follow-up acorn processing workshop will take place in the fall.
Public institutions have a responsibility to support cultural visibility. These library partnerships are an example of what it looks like when that responsibility is taken seriously.
Willow Harvests
This work is grounded in Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Every willow reed we gather, every acorn we collect, comes from a relationship. These aren’t activities designed for show. They’re teachings that carry responsibilities.
On August 7, we’ll hold an invitation-only Willow Harvest at the Indigenous Land Lab, a protected area with no cell service, no pavement, and no spectators. Everything we bring in, we carry. Everything we take, we give back for. This harvest is about learning through presence and care, not documentation.
Use the Volunteer Signup Form and check the box for “Indigenous Land Lab” to get early and exclusive invites to events like the Willow Harvest, Pine Bough Gathering, Berry Picking, or More.
On August 24, we’ll host a public Willow Harvest for people who are ready to engage with seasonal cycles and learn the protocols that come with them. These reeds will be used to build future granaries.
We’re holding an Acorn Harvest Training on August 17 in Alameda. We’ll cover identification of red and white oak species, how to read the land for timing, and how to harvest without harm. We teach what the Honorable Harvest requires: you take only what’s given. You use everything you take. You care for what feeds you. You give back.
This isn’t about reviving lost traditions. It’s about repairing relationships that were interrupted. And healing ourselves.
Reopening Indigenous foodways means returning to ways of being that are grounded in reciprocity, intention, and care. Returning to wellbeing by turning away from over-processed sugars and engineered fats that our bodies were not intended to eat, and which do not fulfill our most basic nutritional needs.
The work is Indigenously-led and Tribally-aligned. It’s built to last, shaped by those who hold cultural memory and who live in relationship with the land. It’s not a trend. It’s a commitment.
And we are inviting you to join us in these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to take part in traditional California Indigenous activities in a respectful and appropriate way, while providing a tangible tribal benefit to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.
How to Get Involved
We’ve launched a new sign-up form to help grow our regional network of volunteers and supporters. If you’ve attended a past event or want to be invited to upcoming harvests, teachings, and builds, we invite you to sign up and stay connected.
Alameda Native History Project is a fiscally sponsored organization. All donations are tax deductible.
Your donation will help us reopen Indigenous foodways, and produce culturally relevant, nutritious, traditional food–at scale–for the first time in over 300 years.
Where your funds go:
Safety Equipment & Supplies We provide a safe platform to reopen Indigenous foodways
Heat Safety
First Aid
Shade Structures
Volunteer Care Essentials for Outdoor Work, honestly viewed as another part of “Safety”
Hydration (Water + Electrolytes)
Protein Bars and Energy Chews
Rest area supplies (Folding chairs, Cooling towels)
