Many opportunities exist to help support VATACF’s mission to restore chestnut trees to Virginia. The volunteer opportunities are part-time and hours can usually be flexible to meet your schedule. Some of the opportunities will take you into nature and involve contact with live chestnut trees. Others involve direct educational contact with the public or behind-the-scenes work of helping the organization succeed. You will have the fun of meeting and working with committed volunteers and interested members of the public and learning about the science and organizational efforts in support of VATACF’s mission. For a list of specific immediate needs, visit the Volunteer Now! page. Or, fill out the Volunteer Interest Form online to indicate your particular skills and interests. For more information, or to volunteer, contact us at ten.nozirev@tuntsehcav.
Many Opportunities to Volunteer!
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🌰 Harvest processing at TACF’s Meadowview Research Farms is equal parts important science and hands-on fun! Staff and volunteers shuck burs and sort chestnuts with care, ensuring quality seeds for future plantings and solid data for research. It’s a lively, rewarding way to support restoration while sharing in the joy of chestnut season together. 🌳
#AmericanChestnut #MeadowviewResearchFarms #americanchestnutfoundation#ChestnutResearch #ConservationScience #harvest
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That was our job after school pick up the chestnuts, we opened them up with our feet.
This isn’t a chestnut tree, right? It’s too old and healthy to be one.
Mary Ellen McCoy
Join us on tomorrow, October 10, 2025, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat.
Our special guest, Dr. Trevor Walker, Assistant Professor of Forest Genetics and Co-Director of the Cooperative Tree Improvement Program at NC State University, will share insights from 70 years of breeding loblolly pine for disease resistance, growth, and stem form. He will also consider which practices are likely to succeed for American chestnut, which are not, and why.
Visit tacf.org/event/chestnut-chat-breeding-disease-resistance-in-loblolly-pine/ to learn more or register.
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Just saw this. How was the chat?
Do you love pulling on your work gloves and cracking open freshly fallen burs to reveal the chestnuts inside? If you do, but don’t have any of your own yet, become a member and get access to our wild-type seed sale in 2026. In just a few years, your hands could be full of spiky burs and American chestnuts of your own. support.tacf.org/membership/new-regular ... See MoreSee Less
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We’re proud to share this segment from the PBS show Human Footprint, featuring former TACF staff member Sara Fitzsimmons. The American chestnut sequence was selected to be adapted into a standalone YouTube video, which launched in late September and has already garnered more than half a million views. Sara’s dedication and expertise have shaped much of the progress in restoring the American chestnut. Give it a watch to learn more about this important work. ... See MoreSee Less

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Great presentation!
You should check this place out. www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/781685434703071/
🌰 Harvest season at TACF’s Meadowview Research Farms brings both beauty and breakthrough science. Many of the chestnut crosses we gather are generated through recurrent genomic selection—cutting-edge research driving restoration forward. Each bur holds not only the wonder of new life, but also the promise of a future where the majestic American chestnut returns to our forests. 🌳
#americanchestnut #castaneadentata #americanchestnutfoundation #ChestnutResearch #meadowviewresearchfarms
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Are there places we can purchases a Chestnut tree that is disease resistant? Thanks!