Valero Funds Supplies for Deer Cages
The first 3rd Thursday Tree Care Day of the year involved seven volunteers building and installing deer cages to protect oak trees that were being damaged by deer using the trees to rub the velvet off their new antlers. Click here to read more about the deer problem. The deer cages are made from welded-wire fencing which is shaped to form a three-foot diameter cylinder that surrounds the tree. Each cage is anchored to the ground with three t-posts.
This project was funded by a $1,000 donation from Valero which was used to pay for the supplies. Approximately 40 trees that have been planted by the Benicia Tree Foundation in the Lake Herman Open Space since 2015 have grown large enough to need deer cages. Ten cages were installed on Thursday.
Volunteers were happy to see that the ground was still wet from the December rains as they checked about 50 locations where trees have been planted. All locations were weeded and empty locations were planted with Buckeye seeds. The rest of the deer cages will be installed by February, before the fuzz starts growing on the deer antlers. The 3rd Thursday Tree Care Day in February will be at Lake Herman Open Space. Click here to volunteer.
