TENNESSEE CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION

 

 

 



 

Tenn Home

About
TN TACF

Join TACF

TN Calendar

Past Meetings
and Events

Newsletter

Publicity

Oral History

Links

Members

Reporting
American chestnut
Trees


Join Us!

Commonly
Asked
Questions


Orchards

Pollination
2005

Pollination
2006

Fungicide
injection

TACF Home


 

Chestnut in Tennessee
by
Ashe, 1911
(new)

 

Vanishing
Trees--
a poem

Awesome Universe

 


TN Calendar --activities and dates of upcoming events
Oral History Link--recollections of the American chestnut


Recent and Future Chestnut-related Events (2010-2012)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Message from Sean Fisher: April 27, 2012 at noon, The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) will be planting two B3F3’s or Restoration chestnut trees version 1.0 (from Meadowview) at Crockett Spring Park, Rogersville, TN. The Rogersville City Tree Board is currently working to get the park certified as an arboretum and the planting of American chestnut gets them one species away from this goal.  They are very excited about this opportunity, as American chestnut adds particular appeal to their goals.  If you would like to attend the planting and meet Tom Saielli, the new Southern Regional Coordinator for TACF, this is your opportunity! 

See photos of the April 14, 2012 Southern Regional Meeting.

Dr. Paul Sisco has invited the TN Chapter to plant Tennessee Clapper chestnut seed in a North Carolina Chapter seed orchard.  To see photos of this orchard site, click here.

See Harold Kemp's thriving chestnut orchard in Macon County, TN.

It's now official--the spring 2012 Southern Regional Meeting of The American Chestnut Foundation will be held at Bridgestone in Morrison, TN.  It will begin at 9:00 AM CST on Saturday, April 14.  Click here for the details:

Photos of the Feb. 18, 2012 chestnut plantings at Matt Harris's orchard are posted at: Photos of the chestnut planting

Message from Sean Fisher:  Would you like to help plant 50 container grown "restoration chestnut" trees at Dollywood?  Actually in the woods nearby Dollywood.  The area needs some work including clearing some bush and small trees from the orchard site.  A shuttle to the site will be provided since the road is very rough and there is not parking at the top.  Dr. Hill Craddock will be there to demonstrate the proper method to plant the trees and will bring the appropriate implements of destruction to clear the bush and small trees.   The event is at;

Dollywood ENTRANCE
Shuttle will be there (or on the way)
1198 McCarter Hollow Road
Pigeon Forge, TN 37862

February 25, 2012
Around 10am EST

Please respond to seanfisher@bfusa.com<mailto:seanfisher@bfusa.com> to know how many folks are planning to come by.

Thank you,
Sean Fisher
TN chapter TACF President


A message from Sean Fisher: 

Hi TN Chapter Members

Would you like to help plant 60 Backcross hybrid trees via direct seed?  Dr. Hill Craddock will be there to demonstrate the proper method.  Matt Harris, Vice President of the TN chapter will also be present and could probably be convinced to give a tour of his chestnut orchard and Christmas tree farm.  The event is at;

 2125 Country Club Road, Jamestown, TN 38556. February 18, 2012. Around 11am CST

Please respond to seanfisher@bfusa.com to know how many folks are planning to come by.

Thank you,
Sean Fisher
TN chapter TACF President


Volunteers are needed to help plant 141 chestnut trees at a Unicoi County Backcross Orchard. John Murray in Erwin,Tennessee is starting a backcross orchard with 141 trees and needs help in planting them. John plans to start around 8 or 9 am EST on Saturday, February 4, 2012, but volunteers can come when they are able to help. .  If you are interested, please send him an email at kipm5225@comcast.net.,

Clint Neel harvests chestnuts in Lincoln and Rutherford Counties, TN (Oct. 2011)  See the photos.

The TN Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation had its fall meeting at the Humphreys House, Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center on Sept. 24, 2011. To see images of this meeting, click here.

On June 11, Clint Neel pollinated  the Rutherford County, TN American chestnut with pollen from the Talladega Nat'l Forest #3 tree, the oldest living American chestnut in Alabama, as well as pollen from several American x Chinese chestnut F1's which were tested for resistance to chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) at Tennessee Tech's orchard.  Photos were taken by Tom Hill.  On June 8 these pollens were also applied to the Lincoln County, TN (Chestnut Ridge) tree, which exhibits some degree of blight resistance, with help from William White.   To see these photos as well as Clint's photos of the Phythophora cinnamomi tub trial at his home in Pegram TN click on :  www.flickr.com/photos/64273555@N04/?saved=1  These experimental tub trees which include Backcross 1's (~1/4 Chinese, 3/4 American chestnut) from North Carolina will soon be inoculated with Phytophthora cinnamomi (ink-root disease) to evaluate their resistance. 

Hill Craddock and William White manned a TN-TACF  booth at the Chattanooga BioBlitz  on May 21, 2011.

See Barry Thacker's photos of Anderson County students planting American chestnut trees (May, 2011): 
http://www.coalcreekaml.com/BricevilleSchool5thField2011.htm and http://www.coalcreekaml.com/LCMSFieldTripMay2011.htm.

Barry Thacker sent us these April, 2011 photos of students planting 300 American chestnut seedlings during an Arbor Day planting event.  http://www.coalcreekaml.com/AmericanChestnutKopperGloPlanting.htm.

The TACF Southern Regional meeting was held at the Bridgestone Learning Center in Morrison, Tennessee on March 5, 2011. To see Joe Nicholson's photos of the event, click here.  To see Joe Schibig's presentation click here .  Greg Weaver's presentation is here  and Stacy Clark's slide show may be seen here.

Dr. Paul Sisco, Dr. Hill Craddock, Ana Mataxas, William White, and Sean Fisher screened chestnut trees for blight resistance at TTU's backcross orchard on Nov. 20, 2010.  See the photos

Dr. Craddock and other volunteers will be manning a display booth for the TN Chapter of  The American Chestnut Foundation  at the CHICKSTOCK festival on Oct. 10, 2010 from 11:00 AM to 7 PM.  CHICKSTOCK is a family-friendly outdoor event produced to benefit the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy. CHICKSTOCK features local and regional bluegrass and American music, local food and art vendors, and outdoor activities for all ages. The event promotes the importance of local land conservation, cultural appreciation, and responsible stewardship of our natural resources

Photos of the Aug. 28, 2010 TN-TACF meeting and the chestnut backcross orchard at Tenn. Tech. U.  are posted.  the trees were inoculated with Cryphonectria on June, 2010 to screen for blight resistance.  See the photos

Check out:  The American Chestnut in Southern Appalachia.  An Oral History
by Iliza Myers:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfrVtFsO0aU
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV-0HrpKypk
Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjWEbrUeXho

What a beautiful tree:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTT6FHUuaJc&feature=related

Video of Entertainer Dolly Parton recognizing the work of her uncle, Bill Owens, and The American Foundation in a ceremony at Dollywood:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KybhhNFi1I

Hill Craddock's chestnut planting tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O8IRqOYrP8&NR=1

TN-TACF's annual summer meeting is set for Aug. 28, 2010 at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN.  Non members are welcome to attend.  We will tour the chestnut orchard that was inoculated with blight on June 4, 2010.  See the  Agenda for more information.

Great news!  The TN Chapter has inoculated its first backcross 3 chestnut trees to screen for blight resistance at  TTU's chestnut orchard in Cookeville.  These trees will be screened  this fall (2010) and in the spring (2011).  See Sean Fisher's slide show capturing key moments of this important event.

Photos of Pollinators at Meadowview VA (June 2010)

Jack Torkelson harvests male flowers from a new chestnut father tree growing on the big island in Center Hill Lake (June 2010).  Check it out

Joe Schibig gave a chestnut presentation to the Hartsville Chamber of Commerce folks (June 2010).

Joe Schibig's presentations on chestnut pollination and nutgrafting at the May 21, 2010 meeting of the Ozark Chinquapin Foundation can be seen at:  nutgrafting and
pollination  

If you want to collect, dry, and store chestnut pollen, see Paul Sisco's directions.

Hill Craddock will have a Chestnut exhibit set up at the Chattanooga Nature Center's BioBlitz on April 30 to May 1, 2010.  See calendar above and:  http://www.chattanooganaturecenter.org/front-page-feature/2010/3rd-chattanooga-bioblitz-april-30-may-1/

Sean Fisher and other TN-TACF members will have a chestnut booth set-up at Oak Ridge on Earth Day.  Everyone is invited to visit the booth.  Earth Day events at the Oak Ridge Civic Center will run from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. A map of the Oak Ridg Civic Center can be downloaded at: http://tinyurl.com/y58cpqz

Barry Thacker's indoor school nursery project for the year culminated in the planting of 400 American chestnut seedlingson April 12, 2010. See: http://www.coalcreekaml.com/AmericanChestnutMarch2010Planting.htm
An article on the event appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel on Apr. 13  as shown at:  http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/apr/13/new-life-at-old-strip-mine/ .

Joe Schibig and his students have a chestnut display set up during the annual Science & Math Expo on Thursday, April 1, 2010.  Click here.

TACF Southeastern Regional and TN-TACF meetings is on Mar. 20, 2010 (see calendar above).  Click here to see the agenda:

To see activities before 2010, click on  Meetings
and Events


Order TN-TACF  T-Shirts with the new logo.

Please contribute to the TN-TACF Orchard Fund--your financial support will
help restore blight-resistant American chestnut trees to our forests, parks, and backyards.  Click here for details.

 The Tennessee Breeding Program

Education and Public Awareness

Membership and Fundraising


Oral History Project

The Tennessee Chapter of The American Foundation, Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the restoration of the American chestnut tree to the forests and woodlots of Tennessee.

Chestnut breeding in Tennessee has been greatly aided by support from the National Forest Foundation. The National Forest Foundation, chartered by Congress, engages America in community-based and national programs that promote the health and public enjoyment of the 192 million-acre National Forest System, and accepts and administers private gifts of funds and land for the benefit of the National Forests.

President of the TN Chapter:  Sean Fisher  SeanFisher@bfusa.com

Web Master:  Joe Schibig 
Joe.Schibig@volstate.edu

Please  Join Us

DEDICATED TO THE RESTORATION OF THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT