Georgia News
GA-TACF Events, Fall 2019
GA-TACF Members, Collaborators, and Interested Others! Our annual chestnut harvest period is just about over, having been hampered a bit by the extended spell of hot, dry weather. The days have begun to feel more seasonal now, so it’s time to think about fall...
GA-TACF’s New Internship and Seed Grant Programs
The Georgia Chapter of TACF is pleased to announce two new small grant programs, the first to help fund student interns associated with existing GA-TACF projects and the second to foster the development of research grant proposals to TACF. Please click on the links...
Annual Member Meeting Saturday, April 13, 10am to noon, at The Atlanta History Center
Final announcement: Members and non-members are welcome!! Please register for GA-TACF's Annual Meeting Atlanta History Center Saturday April 13, 10 am - 12 noon. Register Here! Please join us at the Atlanta History Center on Saturday April 13 (10 am - 12 noon) to...
Southern Brewing Company Supports GA-TACF!
Chestnut Beer on Tap at Southern Brewing in Athens on April 27 GA-TACF is hosting a chestnut-themed event at Southern Brewing Company in Athens on Saturday, April 27, from 3-7 pm. All are welcome, including dogs and kids! Please spread the word and bring your fun...
TWO NIGHTS OF EXHIBIT EVENTS CELEBRATING ARBOR DAY AND WOODTURNING AT OAK HILL MUSEUM, BERRY COLLEGE
ROME, Ga. -- Oak Hill & the Martha Berry Museum will offer a lecture March 4 and a woodturning demonstration March 5 to celebrate the exhibition, “From Tree to Treasure: Woodturnings by Al Christopher.” Berry College Dana Professor of Biology Martin Cipollini will...
Ambrosia beetle time is upon us!
Chestnut enthusiasts, Ambrosia beetles may soon appear in our chestnut orchards. These beetles normally start wood boring activity as soon as we get three 70oF days in a row in the early spring (usually early March in Georgia). Boring activity lasts until the trees...
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Did you know that private landowners - even homeowners with a big backyard - can help support GA-TACF by planting trees on our behalf? Here are just two examples, one a two year old tree planted in Paul Burks' backyard in Atlanta and one a 6 year old tree planted in Scott Frazier's Bottomlands orchard near Taylorsville. Looking good guys!
Read more about planting trees with us here: tacf.org/ga-news/so-you-want-to-plant-some-chestnuts/
The American Chestnut Foundation
Berry College
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
Beautiful form on that second tree
I have room to plant American Chestnut trees! I would definitely plant them, just tell me how to get them.
We want to thank all of the volunteers who helped us this pollination season which is now complete! We were able to bag and pollinate 10 different trees (a record for or us) plus we collected pollen from a number of other trees. This work is crucial for our Best X Best (or RGS) chestnut disease resistance breeding program. Altogether, over the past three weeks, we have had 20 different volunteers plus several more who volunteered but had their shifts cancelled due to weather. We thank all of you! GA-TACF is an all-volunteer organization except for a few interns that are obligated to certain orchard sites (Flint, Hurricane Creek).
Our next major volunteer efforts will start in mid-September when we will harvest and shuck burs and tabulate our harvest. Please stay tuned for announcements about these opportunities! Click here to register to volunteer with us or to sign the volunteer waiver form if you have not already done so: theamericanchestnutfoundation.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=99170
Here are a few more photos of our final two days when we were assisted by Berry College students who are working in Dr. Adrienne Ernst's lab this summer.
The American Chestnut Foundation
Berry College
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Great photos...wish I were there to help with this....I got experience operating one of those boon lifts last year!
Here is a short YouTube video showing how we process catkins and store pollen for chestnut breeding purposes. Pollens processed like this are being used in this summer's Best X Best breeding program.
We are still looking for assistance from chapter volunteers for this program!
Volunteers need not have experience; essential safety and pollination training will be provided at the start of each shift. Our next dates will be Tuesday June 9 and Wednesday June 10 (9 am - noon, and 1 - 5 pm shifts). We can only pollinate when it is not raining, but despite the chance of rain on those days we need to make an attempt at it. Our fallback "rain delay" date will be Thursday June 11. Harvest will take place in September and October when we again will need volunteer help.
If you have not already registered to volunteer with GA-TACF, please do so here: theamericanchestnutfoundation.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=99170
After you have registered, please sign up for pollination shifts here: theamericanchestnutfoundation.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=113887
I hope you will be able to help!
The American Chestnut Foundation Berry College
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Great video, Martin! Interesting and informative!