GA-TACF Annual Meeting May 13 2023

Calling all Georgia American Chestnut enthusiasts!

The Georgia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (GA-TACF) will hold its annual state meeting on May 13th, 2023, in Dahlonega. The meeting will be held at the University of North Georgia Health and Natural Sciences Auditorium, starting at 10AM. There is no charge to attend and the meeting is open to the public. There are a lot of exciting things happening in the chestnut research world at the moment!

The agenda will include a summary of the chestnut story and ongoing restoration efforts, and an update on the most recent science activities. Dr. Scott Merkle from the Warnell School of Forestry at UGA will give us an update on his chestnut research in Athens, including his chestnut cloning and genetic engineering efforts to develop blight resistant chestnuts using Georgia parent trees. We will also be screening TACF’s brand new documentary film, Clear Day Thunder: Rescuing the American Chestnut, featuring appearances by former President Jimmy Carter, Dolly Parton, and Chuck Leavell. Here’s a link to the film’s official trailer – https://www.rescuingtheamericanchestnut.com/

After lunch, we will (optionally) carpool to see the new UNG Hurricane Creek test orchard, about 10 minutes west of campus. More agenda details are available on the Eventbrite registration page.

Please register for the event using the Eventbrite link below. Also. we are making available box lunches ($14) for pre-order via the Eventbrite registration process. Lunch orders will be accepted only through Sunday, May 7th. Registration is not strictly necessary to attend, but it will help us with our event preparations. No personal information will be shared.

Meeting street address: Health and Natural Sciences Building, 2nd floor, 159 Sunset Drive, Dahlonega, GA, 30597. Signs will be placed to direct you to parking.

Registration link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-chestnut-foundation-georgia-chapter-annual-meeting-tickets-598501452957

Jack Rogers, GA-TACF President

Our mailing address is:
Dept. of Biology, P.O. Box 430
2277 Martha Berry Highway
Mount Berry, GA 30149

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The Georgia Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation updated their cover photo.

2 days ago

Seeds collected from Anna Ruby Falls chestnuts. ... See MoreSee Less

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2 CommentsComment on Facebook

Nice!

A friend gave me a dunstan chestnut tree. Is that a good 1 to plant?

The Georgia Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation

2 days ago

Chestnut harvest is progressing in Georgia, including harvests from pure American chestnuts at a few spots in the state. These photos show two chestnuts that have been growing at Anna Ruby Falls since the mid-1990s. They show odd blight cankers consisting of deep gnarled bark. This type of cankering is consistent with either some level of resistance in the host tree, infection with a less virulent (hypovirulent) form of the blight fungus, or both. Regardless of the malformation and periodic loss of limbs, these trees have remained alive and have produced at least some nuts every year for over a decade.

Seeds at this site were graciously collected by Anna Ruby Falls staff member Matt Summers. GA-TACF's Dr. Martin Cipollini and Kathy Patrick picked them up and shuttled them to Berry College for processing. Over 100 seeds were collected.

In order to save seeds for planting, we place them in ziplock bags in damp peat or sphagnum moss, poke some holes in the bags, and keep them in the refrigerator all fall and winter. By January or February the seeds will have sprouted roots and will be ready for planting. Unlike many other nut crops, chestnut seeds do not remain vital after drying out. The American Chestnut Foundation

Photos by Martin Cipollini and Kathy Patrick ... See MoreSee Less

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A Large Surviving American!

Excellent work!

I would love to plant a few chestnuts on my property.

Phillip Hopkins

Can you buy a couple?

Jenn Schultz Gordon these were at Anna Ruby Falls!

I live in Ohio and have 70 acres how can I get a bunch of starts

Mushrooms are a blessing to mankind, I know a colleague of mine who was having intense depression, anxiety and anger issues until he started microdosing shrooms, zara_healing on Instagram was the mycologist who guided him

Look up to rey_sporez on IG, he's got with the best products and medication I can testify, I just received my orders from him, I live in California

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The Georgia Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation

1 week ago

We looking to see if there might be volunteers in the Dawsonville general vicinity who might be interested in checking out three sites that were planted with chestnuts at Dawson Forest several years ago. We think +- 800 backcross hybrid chestnut trees were planted at each site (2500 total). The GA-DNR staff member who initiated the project has left, but he has shown us a map of where the trees should be. At this point, we’d just like to see if anyone is willing to get in contact with current GA-DNR staff members at Dawson Forest to get access to the sites to determine if substantial numbers of the planted trees remain. It would have to be done before leaves drop. If you might be interested, please let us know at gachestnut@gmail.com and we can forward your contact information to the appropriate people.

For general reference, see the attached map (Sites 1, 2 and 3). We can share more information and maps about each location as needed. ... See MoreSee Less

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