Connecticut News
Farming for Biodiversity, or, Chestnuts in My Meadow
Written by David Bingham, MD, Salem CT [click for larger photo] Bluebirds thrive in the protected environment of the fenced orchard. Photographer Hank Golet For years, I have been working to expand the biodiversity of my back yard to restore some of the balance of...
Man Joins Effort To Save Nut Trees
CT-TACF Director Dr. David Bingham is highlighted in this local Connecticut TV broadcast in front of the Old Lyme Library. "Man Joins Effort To Save Nut Trees - News Links Story - WFSB Hartford" http://www.wfsb.com/newslinks/14110153/detail.html?taf=hart
News from Salem and Old Lyme
By Dr. David Bingham A group of Connecticut Chapter volunteers descended on the Salem orchard on April 14th, and planted about 200 nuts before dark on a beautiful day. Fifty of the nuts were from a native American Salem tree. These nuts were harvested last fall and...
Long Distance Romance: CT Mother Trees Find Mail Order Grooms
By Gayle Kida CT-TACF pollinators have once again helped a number of American chestnut trees find attractive mates, but success came only after some disappointments. We received sad news that the Larkin tree and a new tree in Tolland had both died back from blight,...
Time for Sighting Chestnuts
There are certain routes I frequently drive in Connecticut based on certain chores or repetitive tasks ... meetings, work, chauffering kids to their sports. One frequent drive is up Route 8 from Bridgeport to Winsted. I was a little shocked last weekend while making...
CT-TACF Featured in Hartford Courant
Today's Hartford Courant features a story by Columnist Steve Grant, focused on TACF efforts to restore the Americant chestnut. The article contains a picture and quotes by Leila Pinchot, and additional quotes by Sandy Anagnostakis. Hopefully it will provide some...
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This summer, we’re aiming to produce 1,000 hand-pollinated nuts for our genomic-assisted breeding program, and each one is a vital step toward restoring the American chestnut.
Producing a single nut takes time, tools, and teamwork. From pollination to harvest, every step is a vital part of the process to ensure that each nut has the best chance possible to grow into a more blight-resistant tree.
Here’s what goes into a single $25 nut:
Pollination Bag: $5
Hand Pollination Process: $5
Harvesting the Nut: $5
Shucking & Storing: $5
Equipment & Fuel: $5
Total per Nut: $25
By supporting just one nut, you’re helping us bring the American chestnut back to our forests. Support a handful, and you’re helping to rebuild an entire ecosystem.
This nutty campaign only runs from June 3 to 23, and we’ve got 1,000 nuts to grow. Join us!
support.tacf.org/nuts
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
Can you advise on the percentage of success of these nuts to generating a nut producing tree? I’m working on restoring 80 acres and would like to attempt to have some American dominant gene trees on the property that produce nuts but don’t want to take the risk of $100 for four nuts to only find out the percentage of success is still relatively small. Sorry for the likely noob question
Howdy. He have four American Chestnuts together, growing opposite of several Chinese. They are about 20 years old. An interesting study.
There are two work opportunities on June 7, 2025 for members of the WV Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation.
The first is at the U.S. Forest Service property at 459 Nursery Bottom Road, Parsons. Work will begin at 10:00AM at the 'American Chestnut' sign. We will lay out spots for a 100-tree orchard that will be planted next spring. We also will weed the existing orchard and conduct other miscellaneous tasks. Bring gloves, water and lunch. A bathroom is available.
The second opportunity is at Jennings Randolph Lake north of Elk Garden in Mineral County. Forty American chestnut trees will be planted at the Roger Craig campground. Work will begin at 9:00 am. Bring gloves, water and a snack. This work is conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
If you are available to assist at either of these two work sites, it will be much appreciated.
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What an incredible tree the American chestnut was! As The American Chestnut Foundations continues its decades-long work to restore this species, we welcome you to join the cause!
Become a member, volunteer with your local chapter, or simply spread the word about this incredible tree. Visit support.tacf.org/membership to get started.
16 CommentsComment on Facebook
They can bring back a dead wolf from hundreds of years ago but they won’t bring back something useful like the American chestnut
I still have my audubon society, saying my chestnut tree horse chestnut, it had the largest girth in the state of michigan... The tree is gone, but the stump is still standing there.Proud.
And they are all gone because of humans