Turn a fall walk into an easy family project that helps grow Virginia’s future forests.
If you have an oak tree in your yard, you probably don’t need me to tell you that acorn season has arrived. They’re covering yards, sidewalks and driveways all over the area right now, and the Virginia Department of Forestry would love to put some of them to good use.
The Virginia Department of Forestry’s annual Acorn and Nut Collection is back for 2026 and runs through October 11. Families can collect acorns and other nuts and donate them to help grow the next generation of trees right here in Virginia.
This is such an easy activity to do with kids. Take a walk around the neighborhood, send them into the backyard with a paper bag or make it part of your next trip outside. Along the way, you can see how many different trees you can identify and talk about what eventually happens to all those acorns they’re collecting.
The acorns and nuts donated to the program are taken to the Virginia Department of Forestry’s Augusta Nursery in Crimora. There, they are planted and grown into hardwood seedlings that are eventually sold to Virginia landowners. Using seed collected from trees already growing in Virginia is important because those seedlings are generally well suited to our state’s climate.
And all those bags of acorns really do add up.
In 2025, Virginians donated 13 tons of acorns, walnuts and chestnuts to the program. According to DOF, that was enough seed to potentially grow around 500,000 trees. The donations were processed and planted at the Augusta Nursery, where the seedlings will grow for one to two years before they are ready for new homes.
It’s pretty neat for kids to actually see what happens to the acorns after they leave their hands and arrive at the nursery.
You don’t need anything fancy to participate. DOF asks that donations be placed in paper bags or cardboard boxes, not plastic. Different species should be kept separate, and each bag or box should be labeled with the species, collection date and the location where they were found. If you aren’t sure what type of tree the acorns came from, include a few leaves from the tree to help with identification.
DOF recommends collecting in places where it is easy to tell which tree the acorns came from, such as yards, sidewalks and driveways. Collecting in a wooded area can make identification harder because acorns from several different trees may be mixed together.
Only collect where you have permission, stay away from roadways and choose whole, uncracked acorns and nuts. Keep your collection somewhere cool until you can drop it off, and try to deliver it sooner rather than later.
One more thing to keep in mind: acorns are an important food source for wildlife too. Guidance used by participating 2026 collection programs recommends leaving about one-third of the nuts or acorns from a tree behind for wildlife.
The 2026 program is accepting a variety of oak acorns along with several other types of nuts.
The accepted oak species include bur oak, chinkapin oak, chestnut oak, live oak, overcup oak, swamp chestnut oak, swamp white oak, white oak, black oak, cherrybark oak, northern red oak, pin oak, scarlet oak, Shumard oak, southern red oak, water oak and willow oak.
Other accepted species include Allegheny chinkapin, American hazelnut, black walnut and Chinese chestnut. Chestnut oak, white oak, black oak and black walnut are among the species identified as especially needed.
Not sure what you found? The Virginia Department of Forestry updated its Acorn and Nut Identification Guide for the 2026 collection season. It includes photos and descriptions of common acorns and nuts and is a handy resource to pull up while you’re collecting.
Where to Drop Off Your Acorns in 2026
There is an important change this year. DOF has consolidated its collection locations for 2026 and is accepting donations at only 25 designated locations around Virginia. That includes select DOF offices as well as partner collection sites, so don’t assume that the forestry office you may have used in a previous year is still a drop-off location.
Before you load up your acorns, check the current DOF collection-site map and choose the location that works best for you.
All 2026 donations must be dropped off by 5 p.m. Sunday, October 11. Collection bins are outside at participating locations and should be marked with signs.
Find a 2026 Acorn and Nut Drop-Off Location
This is one of those fall activities that doesn’t require planning, tickets or really even leaving your neighborhood. Grab a paper bag, take the kids outside and see what you can find. Instead of those acorns ending up swept off the driveway, they could someday become part of a new Virginia forest.
The 2026 Virginia Department of Forestry Acorn and Nut Collection continues through October 11. You can find the collection guide, identification guide and current drop-off locations through the Virginia Department of Forestry.
