Virginia News
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...
Fall Newsletter Published!
The Fall 2018 issue of the Virginia Chapter of TACF's newsletter, The Bur, is now available for downloading. You can get a pdf copy of this and all issues of The Bur here.
Successful Day Inoculating at New Kent
We had a great day on July 20th at the New Kent Forestry Center! It was a gorgeous day and we stayed cool enough in the shade of the ops building. With 24 folks working, we were able to inoculate about 1400 chestnut seedlings in under 5 hours. That’s pretty...
Small Stem Assay at Providence Forge
On July 20, 2018, small stem assay was conducted at Providence Forge, Virginia (east of Richmond). The seedlings are being used in progeny testing. The seedlings are about 18 months old and were being inoculated with the blight. They were grown in a greenhouse at the...
Inoculation at Fried Orchard
On June 14, a group of volunteers inoculated about 140 trees in the Fried Orchard. The volunteers were Ned Yost, Tom Wild, Meg Sewell and Warren Laws. Regional Coordinator Tom Saielli and our intern Katrina Somers participated as well.
Spring 2018 Newsletter Now Available
The Spring 2018 issue of the Virginia Chapter's newsletter, The Bur, is now available on line. Click here to read the latest issue, which includes stories on progeny testing, the backcross breeding program and chainsaw safety practices and training, along with a...
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National Facebook
Lesesne State Forest is 422 acres, and lies next to Three Ridges Wilderness Area in Nelson County, VA. TACF and VA Department of Forestry partner in managing and breeding chestnuts here for restoration. TACF hosted our partners and national board members on a tour of the orchard in mid-November.
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This beautiful state forest is a must-visit for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts!
Cool. I planted 56 Dunstan chestnuts on Nov. 3 in damp peat moss. I have to transfer to potting soil soon, they're all sprouting. And I mean it looks like every single nut has germinated.
Going here for the first time, seeing all the big American Chestnuts and also watching Bill Deeter 's videos and pictures of his trees convinced me that it is possible to breed resistance into American chestnuts! We got this folks
We’re on the Naturally Scott Podcast!
Our President & CEO sat down with Scott to talk about the past, present, and future of the American chestnut — from its historic role in Appalachia to the cutting-edge science driving restoration today.
- Why the roots never died
- The cutting-edge science behind restoration
- Why volunteers and donors are leading this effort
Watch the full episode now and join us in bringing back America’s iconic tree:
www.youtube.com/@NaturallyScott
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naturallyscott/id1830513032
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🐛 Large silk moth caterpillar native to North America, not a threatened species fairly common *but beautiful.
🌳 Tree is a wild American chestnut planted for a PRR fungicide trial in Clemson, SC.
Photo credit: Celeste Giles, Research Associate with the Plant and Environment Sciences Department at Clemson
#americanchestnut #explore #nature #bugs #chestnuts #caterpillar
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Can you tell us more about the PRR fungicide trial?
So cool. Curious if the funguscide harms the catepillar and insects?
Speaking of threat, our local university has discovered the chestnut weevil is not extinct as was thought. www.actionnews5.com/2025/12/08/uofm-researchers-rediscover-weevil-believed-be-extinct-thanks-phot...
In celebration of GivingTuesday, TACF’s Board of Directors and President & CEO Michael Goergen came together to issue a matching gift challenge. The original goal was $5,000, but because of their collective passion and generosity a total of $18,125 has been raised, making the impact of your gift even greater. If that amount is reached, it will double to $36,250! Visit the link in our bio to donate.
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Join the VA chapter for a science presentation, orchard tour and seed give away! This meeting is open to the public and will take place on December 6th at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve from 1pm-4pm.
Stop by and get some free wild-type American chestnut seeds!
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What kind of American chestnut seeds?
Very cool! Have fun everyone who can go!
their is one kind only