Virginia News
Pollination Plans for 2015
As a part of our breeding program for native chestnuts, we perform controlled pollination. What we do is tie pollination bags on the female flowers of wild, surviving chestnuts. The first step is to count out and label bags. Then we get a bucket truck or orchard...
Seed Planting at Catawba
On the bright and windy morning of Saturday, April 4, four volunteers planted 88 chestnut nuts at the Catawba Sustainability Center’s breeding orchard. The Catawba Sustainability Center, a property of Virginia Tech, is located in Catawba, Virginia. Catawba is a...
Planting at Ivy Creek
On March 28, five Restoration 1.0 chestnut seedlings were planted at the Ivy Creek Nature Area near Charlottesville. These seedlings are a 15:1 cross between native American chestnuts and Chinese chestnuts and have been bred to incorporate the blight resistant...
Volunteers Work in Roland Orchard
On March 26, six volunteers braved a rainy morning to work in the Roland Orchard in Fauquier County. Eighty-six traps were baited and set for Asian Ambrosia Beetles (AAB), which are a serious threat to the health of chestnut trees. In addition, the volunteers measured...
Planting Time is Coming!
The season for planting chestnut trees—whether from seeds or seedlings—is springtime. If you are planning to plant this spring, it’s time to be thinking about what you need to do to improve your chances of growing healthy American chestnut trees. First, consider your...
Meadowlark Gardens Planting May 3
The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority and the Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation will plant a demonstration orchard of Restoration Chestnuts at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna on Sunday, May 3 at 11:00 am. We are looking for a few...
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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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This isn’t a chestnut tree, right? It’s too old and healthy to be one.
do yall sell seeds?
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
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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.
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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!