The Gerber Oaks

The Gerber Oaks. . After Frank and Elizabeth Gerber established this park, their daughters, Sarah and Frances, decided to convey additional land along this Eastern boundary to preserve these magnificent trees. , Forester Carl Burhop, in 2017, estimated these oaks to be between 175 and 225 years old and if so, they were young trees when Thomas Jefferson was president. , Naturalists agree the White Oak (Aquercus alba) is the premier wildlife tree, providing shelter, nesting areas, and food for over 200 species of insects, birds, and animals. It can grow up to 100 feet tall. Its wood is hard, high-grade lumber used for furniture, flooring, barrels, veneer and baskets. It grows in upland forests and tolerates a wide of soils. , Oak Openings , Gerber Hill Park, on the Western edge of the oak opening region, is a high, sandy ridge resulting from the receding of ancestral Lake Erie after the ice age, some 10,000 years ago. Under the sandy ridge is a layer of impervious water cradling clay, ideal for the tall grass prairie plants and large, spreading oaks. , Native Americans, by creating periodic burns, kept these areas open in the woods to promote native grasses and flowers used for weaving, medicine, and to attract game for hunting. , The thick bark of the oak resisted the fire and remained in the burned areas, thus the name “Oak Openings."