Virginia News
Buy a Turkey, Help TACF!
Wondering where to buy your Christmas turkey? We've got the answer! This year Gentle Harvest, a wholesaler and retailer of locally grown, humane, and organic foods in Marshall, VA, has partnered with TACF to raise awareness about the American chestnut tree, thanks in...
Ceremonial Trees Planted at Boxerwood
Two blight-resistant American chestnut trees were recently planted at the beautiful preserve at Boxerwood in Lexington, Virginia. The trees, which now measure about 18 inches in height, will grow to more than 50 feet over the years. The Boxerwood press release...
Linda Duncan’s Art Chosen for Master Naturalist 2019 Pin
It's with pride that we report that Linda Duncan's watercolor of the American chestnut bur was chosen for use on the Virginia Master Naturalist 2019 recertification pin. Each year, the VMN program creates a special recertification pin to recognize those volunteers...
Garden Club Exhibit a Success
Virginia TACF staffed a combined exhibit with Mill Mountain Garden Club at the Garden Club of America meeting in Roanoke on October 9-11. The Mill Mountain Garden Club has 100 members in the Roanoke Valley. The meeting was attended by nearly 100 members from all over...
Progress Harvesting Orchards!
Good news! We are almost finished with harvesting backcross orchards in Virginia. Fortunes Cove was loaded with burs; the same was true with the orchard at Blandy and a few of the others. Soon we’ll focus our efforts on harvesting wild Americans. This is a chance...
Bur Collection Time: Volunteers Needed!
We’re looking for volunteer chestnut lovers to help bring in this year’s nuts. If you haven't harvested before, here's all it entails. Someone climbs up the ladder and pushes the burs off. People on the ground chase down the burs and put them in bags. Except at...
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National Facebook
Have a great photo of an American chestnut tree, bloom, bur, leaf, restoration planting, volunteer event, or wildlife interaction? We'd love to see it! (Photo pictured taken by 2025 2rd place winner Eric Sizemore)
First Place receives:
- Their photo featured on the cover of a future issue of Chestnut magazine
- A one-year TACF Seed Level Membership (a $300 value!)
- TACF merchandise
Second and Third Place winners will receive:
- TACF swag
- Recognition alongside the first-place winner in the 2027 Spring/Summer issue of Chestnut.
Submit your entries by December 31, 2026.
Visit the following link for more information and complete submission details: tacf.org/2026-photo-contest/
#AmericanChestnut #PhotoContest #TACF #ChestnutMagazine #ConservationPhotography #ForestRestoration #NaturePhotography
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Josh Roudebush win it all bro I might know a few big boys for the shot
A bee enjoying a well deserved break after the chestnut pollination period. The tree it rests on is a hybrid castanea pumila x alabamensis (dwarf chestnut x Alabama chinquapin).
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Voles got my chestnut, planted spring 2025
August Events! Double check with your states Chapter about events in your area.
Visit the following link for more information on the events: tacf.org/events/category/tacf/
#americanchestnut #Connecticut #northcarolina #SouthCarolina #getinvolved
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In a recent article for The Conversation, Dr. Steve Strauss discusses how advances in genomics and biotechnology are creating new opportunities to support chestnut restoration.
We're pleased to see perspectives from a longtime TACF collaborator. Steve served on our Science Advisory Review Committee in 2018 and currently has a pending proposal with TACF to improve genetic transformation methods for chestnut.
Give the article a read and let us know what part of chestnut restoration you're most excited about: theconversation.com/new-genetic-approaches-raise-hopes-for-restoring-the-american-chestnut-to-its...
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Somewhere, waiting discovery deep inside the remote part of a forest towers a thriving blight resistant nut filled American Chestnut (surrounded by dead ones just so we know it was exposed and surviving). We can hope. Taking inspiration from the Dogwood saga.
Professors at S.U.N.Y E.S.F put a wheat gene in to Chestnuts years ago and have growing them
I thought the blight only killed the tree above the ground and not the root system that's why the chestnut resprouts and grows until it gets a scar on it and the blight kills the sprouted tree back down to the ground leaving more viable root system to sprout again in the future.
Unlike most forest trees that rely mostly on wind, American chestnuts recruit insects too.
#americanchestnut #EnvironmentalEducation #pollinator #nativetrees #dronefootage
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Okay, who was in our Monocacy Orchard. MDTACF.