Live Oaks: Specimens of Global, Scholarly and Public Research

Live Oaks: Specimens of Global, Scholarly and Public Research. . , Early Conservation Efforts , In the past, live oaks were so valuable to shipbuilding and U.S. national security that in the early 1800s Congress passed laws to prevent them from being harvested illegally. The U.S. government also purchased and protected vast areas of timberland for use in naval shipbuilding. These were some of America's earliest experiments in natural resources conservation., Studying Live Oaks , Smithsonian Gardens works with other organizations to study and protect live oaks. Historically, live oaks have only grown as far north as southern Virginia. But due to climate change, scientists are investigating whether they can grow further north., Slave Wrecks Project , Today, Smithsonian scholars are gaining new insights into the international slave trade by studying slave shipwrecks as part of the Slave Wrecks Project, an international maritime archaeology project. Live oak wood is strong and slow to degrade, enabling potential discoveries in the future., [Captions:] , Above By 1802, an estimated 80% of the live oaks on Cumberland Island, Georgia had been harvested for lumber. Today, however, the island is a National Seashore., Left Some of the live oaks on the grounds of the National Museum of African American History and Culture were planted as part of a study to see whether live oaks can thrive in our region., Above Through the SWP's efforts, previously submerged archaeological remains and long neglected histories are being recovered, restored, remembered, protected, and shared.