Mission
Our Mission is a Celebration
of
The Majesty of Oaks
The Power of Story
The Wisdom of Trees
The Presence of Spirit
The Insights of Intention
The Necessity of Science
The Importance of History
Synchronicity and Serendipity
The Delight of Human Connection
We lovingly grow oaklings from special lineages of ancient and veteran oaks
from some of the finest landscapes and historic estates of Britain,
honouring the perennial truths of the interconnected beauty and oneness of nature
whilst encouraging visionary stewardship of the land and upliftment of all its myriad wonderful Beings
Our Offerings
We invite you into something mighty and rare.
Lectures
Workshops &
Panels
Tree Planting
Ceremonies
Pasture Woodland
Design
& Restoration
Our work in continuing the lineages of these ancient trees is primarily by selling their saplings. We supply container-grown oak trees available in various sizes and stages of growth to plant at any time of year. Contact us for more information.
Founder Benedict Pollard, also known as "Acorn Man," offers a series of captivating lectures that reveal the majesty and mystery of old oaks, touching on wildlife (notably beetles), horticulture, science, story. spirit, discovery and character. He has also spoken at festivals and conferences. Get in touch for bookings.
A wonderful way to celebrate an occasion or honour loved ones. Planting oaks of special lineage in a ceremonial setting will linger long in the memory. We honour the oaks as wise and special Beings.
Birthdays, weddings, christenings, retirements, awards, prizes, memorials, treasured gifts.
Get in touch to choose a special tree.
We assist landowners on large estates, farms, public and private woodlands, large gardens on planting one, a few or many oaks of all sizes. 2025 and 2026 has seen us helping to design several new flagship schemes.
Get in touch to discuss
Meet the Founder
Benedict John Pollard, 'Acorn Man'
Benedict's passion for oaks started as a young lad when he was tall enough to start climbing the many wonderful veteran oaks in the 11 acre garden he was fortunate enough to grow up with, in rural Berkshire in the 1970s and 80s. In 2023 he discovered that an unused old name for the property was Barton Grove, suggesting a link with oaks. Indeed on the other side of the road stand several old veteran oaks, perhaps ancient. In 1990, he started planting various oaks in the garden, and wrote a detailed General Studies project entitled: 'The Oak Tree'. It was awarded 95% and a school prize (a £10 book voucher), with which he purchased a biography of Jimi Hendrix!
Meet The Team
Our team is committed to the health and quality of our oaklings, and to the furtherance of our holistic understanding of the special nature of the grand oak trees from which we gather acorns.
The late James Harris
Acorn Germination / early care
James, owner and founder of Mallet Court Nursery in Somerset, sadly passed away on 29 September 2025, aged 92. He grew a wide variety of oak trees for over 40 years. He was a Mentor to our founder, who first purchased two exotic oak species (Quercus dentata and Q. douglasii) from him back in 1994. James grew on all of our acorns and young trees from 2015 until 2022, he was a fount of knowledge and wisdom and horticultural excellence. He is sadly missed and we are tremendously grateful for all his input. We were thrilled that he did manage to visit our new nursery in Oxfordshire in 2024, to see the fruits of his work.
Obituary: https://www.internationaloaksociety.org/content/memoriam-james-harris-1933-2025
Rupert & Amanda Ponsonby
Stewards of the Land
Rupert and Amanda are hosts of our nursery on a Cotswold spread of sheep, arable, forestry, grassland, streams and dry stone walls. They have planted several of our oaks (whose mother oaks could date from 1080AD onwards) on a public footpath in their valley and will be adding QR codes on storyboards to tell the stories of the kings and queens who ruled the country when each parent oak was born – and the food they ate, the clothes they wore, the sports in which they indulged and the rather colourful entertainments of the royal courts.
Owen Storey
Nursery Deputy
Owen recently graduated with a degree in Geography and has been part of the team since 2023.
He works on the nursery most weeks, and is a great help with repotting, weeding, re-caning, pruning and occasionally gathering acorns too! Autumn and early winter 2025 has seen him lead the team on acorn sowing and keeping them mouse-proof - no easy task!
He has also been building up a lot of experience in landscaping, planting, estate maintenance and other horticultural skills and experience.
Isha Nager
Web and Graphic Design
Isha has over 13 years of experience in web and graphic design, supporting conscious projects that promote wellbeing and intentional living. Her work spans both the nonprofit and arts sectors, where she brings a thoughtful, purpose-driven aesthetic to each initiative she supports.
Rooted in a strong personal practice of Vedic ideals and tradition, Isha is especially drawn to projects that serve a greater purpose—those that inspire unity, education, and a deeper alignment with nature and higher values. She is passionate about using design as a meaningful tool to elevate messages that contribute to individual and collective wellbeing.
Benedict and Isha have been friends for almost ten years and have been part of several trips to India under the auspices of Sri Svami Purna.
Joe Scarborough (above)
& George Bugler (pic below)
Assistant Nurserymen
Joe has been helping out with great enthusiasm and dedication, in between taking degrees in microbiology and at medical school.
George is an experienced landscape gardener and comes to assist us with the oak care in and around his other planting work in Oxfordshire.
They are both invaluable members of the team.
Noufel Ghayati
Map design for website
Noufel is a freelance web designer based in Morocco, specialising in technical web mapping software integration. His skills are matched by his professionalism, patience and efficiency, and he is fast becoming a key part of the Interpretation team of MFO.
“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”
— Kahlil Gibran
What people say
"... I would like to introduce you to the wonderful work of Benedict Pollard. Truly one of the most stirring stewardship works I know of"
--- Stephen Harrod Buhner
19th November 2018
Herbalist, poet, mystic, and celebrated author of
deeply significant books on plants, including:
Becoming Vegetalista
The Lost Language of Plants
The Secret Teachings of Plants
Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm
"... Thank you again for a magical evening. I am renowned for dropping off, spilling my wine, at similar talks, but there was no danger with yours. I was riveted!"
--- Alix Whiffen
March 2024
Audience member at Benedict's talk "The Soul of the Oak"
“Two sturdy oaks I mean, which side by side, withstand the winter's storm, and spite of wind and tide. Grow up the meadow's pride, for both are strong. Above they barely touch, but undermined down to their deepest source. Admiring, you shall find Their roots are intertwined Insep'rably.”
— Henry David Thoreau, Friendship
“A people that has forgotten its traditions, its ancestors, and the sacrifices that bought its freedom is a people already conquered. For the man without memory is easily ruled, and the man without roots is easily led.”
— Hilaire Belloc
Services Enquiry Form
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