eSprout |   July 2015
Restoring an American Icon: Your Support Makes a Difference
Your donation, in any amount, helps support the ongoing research of TACF to develop a blight-resistant American chestnut tree. Thanks to the generous support of our members in 2014, TACF and its volunteers planted more than 350,000 chestnut trees throughout the Appalachian range. Join us in our efforts to restore this American icon by donating online or by calling the TACF national office at (828) 281-0047.
Staff Article: Back to the Roots
By Matthew Brinckman

As many TACF volunteers know, going from planting season to tree selection time in Chapter backcross breeding orchards is no small task. Only the trees showing high blight resistance are selected to join TACF's backcross breeding program and those with insufficient resistance must be cleared from the orchard. Then the arduous task of safely eliminating these trees begins.

Summer Interns Create Database for Ceremonial Trees in Virginia 

By Kathleen Marmet

Interns Sarah Hagen and Jacob Winn have been hard at work this summer in the state of Virginia. In addition to supporting the state's backcross breeding program, Hagen and Winn are responsible for a new project: following up on the Virginia Chapter's numerous, high-profile ceremonial plantings -collecting data about each of these trees and entering the information into a publicly accessed database. 
New York Relay for Life Event Gifts Cancer Survivors with American Chestnuts Seedlings

For the second year in a row, 140 registered cancer survivors took home a pure American chestnut seedling from the 11th Annual Relay for Life of Madison County in Oneida, New York. The American Chestnut Foundation's New York Chapter, in collaboration with The American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project at SUNY-ESF in Syracuse, was delighted to have supported the American Cancer Society and their research for this event. 

 

Photo by Katherine Desjardin, MA/RI Chapter secretary and member.
A yellow Warbler, who has been making regular visits to this American chestnut, perches on a branch. Click here to view a large-scale version of this image. Submitted via Facebook. 
Calendar of Events
July 18 / MA/ RI Chapter Event: Summer Meeting / MacLeish Field Station of Smith College / 180 Poplar Hill Road / Whately, MA 01371

July 20 - 23 / PA/NJ Chapter Event: World of Wood 2015 / Penn State Extension / University Park, PA 

July 26 / PA/NJ Chapter Event: Ned Smith Nature and Arts Festival / 176 Water Company Road / Water Company Road / Millersburg, PA / 9 A.M. - 4 P.M. 

August 1 - 2 / PA/NJ Chapter Event: 9th Annual Festival of the Woods / Grey Towers National Historic Site /  122 Old Owego Turnpike / Milford, PA / 10 A.M. - 5 P.M. 

August 15 / KY Chapter Event: 2015 Annual Meeting / Pine Mountain State Resort Park / 1050 State Park Road / Pineville, KY 40977 

October 11 / WV Chapter Event: 8th Annual West Virginia Chestnut Festival / Rowlesburg, WV / 10:30 A.M. - 7:30 P.M. 

October 17 / 6th Annual Chestnut Celebration / Meadowview Research Farms / 29010 Hawthorne Drive, Meadowview, VA 24361 / 2 P.M. - 6 P.M. 

October 23 - 25 / TACF Annual Meeting 2015 in collaboration with Schatz Tree Genetics Colloquium / Penn Stater Conference Hotel / State College, PA / Register Today! 

For all TACF events, visit http://www.acf.org/calendar.php. 
The American Chestnut Foundation
50 North Merrimon Ave, Suite 115
Asheville, NC 28804
(828) 281-0047
               
The mission of The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is to restore the American chestnut tree to our eastern woodlands to benefit our environment, our wildlife, and our society.

 

TACF is a 501(c)3 conservation organization headquartered in Asheville, NC. To learn about TACF and its national breeding program, visit www.acf.org. To join the effort to restore the American chestnut tree, visit www.acf.org/join.php.