by: Leeta Latham

If there's one living organism on the Nature Reserve that embodies the idea of longevity, perhaps it is the coast live oak tree, we call the Mother Oak. At an estimated age of 550 years, it is the oldest known oak on The Nature Reserve and a favorite spot for many, including myself. 

Every time I walk up the trail and catch the first sight of this magnificent tree, I'm always a little awestruck. The proof would be to look through my photographs over the years. So many of those are of that first glimpse as you come up the trail. Often as I stand under the branches of this tree, I wonder what the Mother Oak has seen in the 500 plus years. What are the stories it would tell if it could talk? What changes have occurred as it sprouted from an acorn to seedling. As it grew from a sapling to the great oak it is today.  

Did Acjachemen, the first people to the area, gather acorns from Mother Oak’s branches? 

When the oak was just 200 years old, did members of the Portola expedition ever rest beneath its shade as they made their way through the San Juan Capistrano Valley. 

During the earthquake of 1812, did the leaves shake? Did any last remaining acorns of the season fall to the ground? 

How tall were its branches in 1882, when the Flood and O’Neill families first started cattle ranching in the area? Did the cattle nibble at low-lying branches? 

In the early 1940s just after the death of Richard O'Neill with the O’Neill family lands held in trust, the question of whether to sell the ranch loomed. Facing financial hardship, O’Neill’s wife Marguerite “Daisy” O’Neill decided not to sell the land but rather told her family to “Take Care of the Land, and the Land will Take Care of Us.” 

In 1990, when Mother Oak was over 500 years old, the O’Neill family set aside the 1,200 acres of land surrounding the Mother Oak as permanently conserved open space known as the Richard and Donna O’Neill Conservancy. Nearly 20 years later, this 1,200-acre space is part of The Nature Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo. 

But longevity viewed only through the lens of history tells only half of the story of this land. To ensure the future of the Mother Oak, and thousands of other oaks on the historic Rancho Mission Viejo lands, the O’Neill descendants had to plan for the future.   

60 years after Marguerite Daisy O'Neill's decree to the family, the descendants of Richard and Marguerite made another decision to conserve 75% of their remaining land as a habitat reserve called The Nature Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo. 

As we embark on the 20th year as The Nature Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo, we also mark 83 years since Marguerite Daisy O'Neill told the family to Care for the Land. That decree has been the cornerstone for creating connections with the land and pulling together community who also want to carry on a “Culture of Care” for the Nature Reserve. 

This year we are excited to offer many opportunities for everybody to celebrate our 20th year and to visit the 550-year-old, Mother Oak. We invite you to join us and be part of the longevity of this land!