MA/RI-TACF Annual Meeting: Sunday, December 6, 2020 (Online)
9am – 12:30pm
Contact us for the ZOOM login link.
Keynote: Sam Droege, USGS
11:00 am
Newly Discovered: A native bee that depends on Chestnuts: How Saving Chestnuts Saves Other Species
Sam Droege of the USGS will speak on Andrena rehni and other insect pollinators of chestnut. TACF orchards may begin to host populations of this bee and others, and understanding the relationship of chestnut to these insects may help restoration of chestnut — as well as its pollinators!
The Chestnut Bee! Andrena renhi
Photo by Cole Cheng; https://usgsbiml.tumblr.com/post/615607397487149056/the-lost-chestnut-bee-have-you-seen-this-bee?is_related_post=1
We appreciate the continued support of all our members, volunteers and collaborators as we work together to restore blight resistant American chestnut to MA and RI, as part of a regional effort. Each year the number of trees planted, nuts harvested and volunteers continues to grow!
- As of 2018 we have 6 Seed Orchards with another 2 in the plans for 2019.
- Our 2018 Harvest from our rogued BC3F2 Research Orchards produced well over 14,000 nuts!
Seed Orchard Description & Site Requirements
In the News
Bristol Aggie students pot hundreds of orchard “replacements” yearly for almost a decade!
Dighton, MA
Bristol Aggie Students Plant 100 Seedlings on Town of Dighton Conservation Property
2018 Pittsfield Seed Orchard – 3000 trees!
2018 Cub Scouts Plant American Chestnuts @ Springside Park
2016 News Article – Pittsfield Highlights Chestnut Seed Orchard to Celebrate Arbor Day
2014 News Article – Pittsfield Seed Orchard Part of Widespread Chestnut Restoration
2012 News Article – Weston Seed Orchard
Photo taken by John Emery @ Weston Orchard
2015 News Article – Westboro Seed Orchard
Large seed orchard at MassWildlife
Al Southwick: The Chestnut Tree – a storied past, tragic decline and hope for its future
Green Hill Park Worcester Chestnut Harvest
Smith College – MacLeish Field Station – Seed Orchard
Chestnuts Comeback Reaches Worcester
South Kingstown Land Trust Video – A Chestnut Story
MA/RI Chapter Experiencing Growing Partnerships with Educational Institutions
Tantasqua Junior High School Video
Tantasqua Chestnut Tree Project
The MA/RI Chapter of TACF acknowledges that the TACF National Science Oversight Committee on November 11, 2016 approved the 3 BUR Proposal for Integrated Research. We further state that while being supportive of TACF’s mission to explore all options to restore the American chestnut tree, we remain committed to the backcross method of breeding that we have been working with since the founding of the chapter. The transgenic tree developed by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) researchers is in early testing status and under very strict Federal quarantine until an extensive deregulation process is completed and is therefore currently unavailable to our chapter. We will monitor the results of the most recent scientific developments and testing before making any determination of our level of involvement with transgenic breeding.