By Robert Sypolt, TACF West Virginia Chapter President
The West Virginia chapter of TACF is actively planning an exhibit at the 2017 Boy Scout Jamboree happening July 19 to July 28. The Jamboree will be held at the Summit Bechtel Reserve near Beckley West Virginia. The 10,000-acre complex was designed for a wide range of activities for scouts. As of now there will be twenty thousand scouts and five thousand adults from all areas of the United States attending. Many other visitors are also expected to stop by this event.
Albert, one of the PBR chestnut trees growing at the Reserve.
The West Virginia chapter has been involved with the Summit Bechtel Reserve before. In April 2014, the chapter, along with the Boy Scouts and other volunteers, planted 300 American chestnut seedlings at one end of the CONSOL Energy Wing Tip Bridge. Chapter Treasurer, Sam Muncy, was in involved with the 2014 planting and has done maintenance work at the site two times each year. Sam is also chairing the chapter’s Jamboree exhibit committee. The committee is planning a very extensive educational exhibit on the Conservation Trail along with other exhibitors. Part of the educational exhibit is a special tree named “Albert” which scouts are encouraged to locate. The scout that finds Albert will receive a stamped wooden American chestnut token that Sam and other TACF volunteers made just for this activity.
The goal of TACF’s West Virginia chapter is to spread awareness of the importance of bringing back the American chestnut tree to our forests.