Chestnut Planting at EKU

Come One, Come All!!

It’s time to plant B3F2 American Chestnut Seedlings in our regional seed orchard at Eastern Kentucky University!

 

 

Dear Members, Students and Volunteers,

 

We have successfully started planting seedlings at our regional seed orchard at Eastern Kentucky University and it looks great. We are really excited about this important orchard – it will one day produce the seeds that will be used to restore American chestnut to the hardwood forests in Kentucky.

 

But now is the time to keep up the great work. We are seeking volunteers to help us plant over one thousand little chestnut seedlings on Monday November 13^th. Please consider joining us in this noble effort!

 

 

WHAT, WHERE AND WHEN:

 

Monday, November 13^th, at 10:00 AM

 

Level of difficulty: moderate

Will hands get dirty? Yes!

Fresh air and good folks: Definitely!

Note: Bring water, lunch & snacks; gloves, and dress for the weather…also bring hand tools (such as a hand trowel) and a bucket to carry things around with you.

 

 

Directions to the site:

 

From I-75 Take exit 87 to KY-876 E/Eastern Bypass in Richmond (heading east) about 1 mile

Turn right onto Kit Carson Drive (heading south) about ¼ mile

turn left on McKinney Skills Dr and go past the first driveway (that leads to a parking lot) and take the next right (you will see the police training center in front of you and a gravel road to the right – take the gravel road) the road you take will have piles of construction material and old stumps – don’t worry, you are not going the wrong way – continue down this road and through a gate.

Look for the signs directing you to the seed orchard/parking area.

 

GPS: 37.722368, -84.297095

 

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Please Email Rick Caldwell to RSVP or for more details rcaldwell@bernheim.org

 

 

Hope to see many of you there!!

Kentucky Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation Meeting - 2017

This year's annual meeting will take place at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest on August 12, 2017, between the hours of 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM. We will meet at the Education Building in the classroom. Come and join us for a day of updates and presentations on what has been going on in our Kentucky Chapter with the American chestnut tree and the efforts to reestablish this native tree back into our landscape.


If you would like to attend this free event, please RSVP to:

Rick Caldwell

President, Kentucky Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation

P.O. Box 130

Clermont, KY 40110

Office: 502-955-8512 ext. 232

Cell: 502-807-2257

rcaldwell@bernheim.org

  

Everything Loves Chestnut Trees!

Chestnut trees have been referred to a "deer candy," as the foliage is highly favored by deer.  And of course, "everything" eats the nuts from the chestnut tree - deer, bears, raccoons, turkey, bluejays, etc.  the Kentucky Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation has even had one of their backcross breeding orchards literally destroyed by elk in the eastern part of the state.


I recently observed a leafcutter bee utilizing American chestnut leaves for nesting materials.  The bees are solitary in nature (no hives like a honey bee) and will cut small portions of suitable leaves to be carried back to the nesting cavity - usually a hollow plant stem or abandoned exit hole from a boring insect in a tree - and placed just so to construct chambers.  Within these chambers, the bee collects and deposits a ball of pollen.  Upon this pollen, an egg is laid and then the chamber is sealed up with another leaf cutting.  Onto building the next one!

A leafcutter bee can be seen towards the left carrying a newly cut piece

of American chestnut leaf.



Are chestnut trees extinct?

Are chestnut trees extinct?

Well, the quick answer to this question is no, they are not.  In fact, pure American chestnut trees can still be found out in the woods of Kentucky!  However, they are often only small in size and may be too young or small to produce nuts.  These "wild" trees tend to be sprouts from existing root systems of chestnut trees that have been killed by the blight.

In an ongoing cycle, the living root systems will send up a sprout which may remain small and suppressed in the shade of the other trees for many years.  Upon a disturbance, such as a fire, windstorm or even a human cause disturbance such as a timber sale, the small tree will take off in growth once it has more light getting to it!  Sometimes these will get large enough to flower and produce nuts, but at other times they may succumb to blight before they even begin to flower.

There are some people making the effort to grow pure American chestnut trees, mostly just for their own pleasure.  One person doing this in Bullitt County, KY, is Kerrin Hester.  Mr. Hester has grown a variety of pure American trees from nuts he has obtained from various locations, including Kentucky, Virginia and Maine.

Kerrin has been growing this small orchard for the past four years.  Many of the trees are showing signs of producing male flowers and there are high hopes that some female flowers will be produced this year.  Kerrin is looking forward to getting his first nuts from the orchard!

Some of the trees are well over 20' tall!  As you can see to the left, Mr. Hester is around 6' tall, but he is dwarfed by the beautiful American chestnut trees around him.

If you are interested in finding out more about American chestnut trees and efforts to restore them to our Eastern forests, visit The American Chestnut Foundation's website at TACF and consider joining in the efforts!

Like most things in life, Mr. Hester has encountered a few challenges with his orchard.  Deer enjoy nibbling on the lower branches of the trees.  Now that the terminal buds are above deer browse height, that isn't a real concern.

Another vector recently encountered within the orchard is the introduced Ambrosia beetle.

Several trees showed signs of beetle infestations this spring.  Those trees have since died.

An Ambrosia beetle exit hole near the top of the photo, along with frass "tubes" coming out several other holes. 




And, of course, several trees have shown signs of blight, but so far have not died from this.


So, now you know that the American chestnut tree is not extinct and can still be found throughout much of its historic range, as well as planted and grown.  However, the USDA classifies American chestnut as "functionally extinct."  This is due to the lack of mature trees producing viable nuts.


Efforts by The American Chestnut Foundation, The American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation and other organizations will hopefully succeed in making this tree no longer "functionally extinct" in the woodlands of the eastern US.

Chestnut Activities at Eastern Kentucky University

There are some wonderful chestnut related events coming up at Eastern Kentucky University, including the planting of nuts at their chestnut orchard.  Details and contact information can be found below.

Arbor Days at Elmwood and Taylor Fork Ecological Area

When: Thursday, 20 April 2017

Where: Elmwood / Emma Watts Estate

Description: The days will consist of activities from 10:00-2:00 pm (4-20) and 10:00-4:00pm (4-21). The first day is a ceremonial planting and guest speaker after 1:00. It’s an informal, casual event that encourages participation and lunch on the grounds. Light snacks provided. A zero-waste event, please bring a water bottle to refill.

In case of rain- Keene Johnson Walnut Hall for tree education booths and a venue for the guest speaker, Dr. William H. Martin

The second day is our work day. Consisting of multiple projects, The American chestnut is our featured tree for both events.

 

Arbor Day at Elmwood

April 20, 1017

 

EVENT ITINERARY

Grounds/Estate Open House – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Elmwood Event activities and workshops 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM (breaks for lunch and speech)

 

10:00 am to 1:00 pm – Exhibit tables American Chestnut Foundation, Office of Sustainability, UK Urban Forestry Initiative

10:00 am to 1:00 pm - Tree climbing with Brian Clark, EKU Parks and Recreation

10:00 am to 1:00 pm - Tree Health Care Workshop with Nic Williamson, UK Urban Forestry Initiate

10:00 am to 1:00 pm - Tree Geocaching – EKU The Wildlife Society

10:00 am to 1:00 pm - Winter Creeper eradication demonstration plot (EKU Grounds)

10:00 am to 1:00 pm - Tree Identification Tours – EKU The Wildlife Society

12:00 pm to 12:45 pm - Zero Waste Lunch- The Office of Sustainability

1:00 – 2:00 PM

1:00 pm to 1:15 pm Ceremonial tree planting

1:20 pm to 1:25 pm President Benson’s introduction of Dr. William H. (Bill) Martin

1:25 pm to 1:55 pm Dr. William H. Martin, Retired Commissioner, Kentucky Department Natural Resources and Retired Director, Natural Areas, Eastern Kentucky University and, Appalachian Old-Growth Forest Expert

Open for questions 1:55 pm to 2:00 pm

Arbor Day at Taylor Fork Ecological Area

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Tree Campus USA Planting Service Day (Ft. American chestnut)

When: Friday, 21 April 2017

Where: Taylor Fork Ecological Area and Chestnut orchard

Description: (1) Orchard: American chestnut direct seed planting. (2) EKU Nursery and Taylor Fork: Native tree planting. honeysuckle removal, Bring your lunch. Wear long pants and closed-toed shoes for your protection. Rain or shine event (unless there is lightning), please dress for the weather. TFEA -(tree planting, honeysuckle removal, ash tree treatments)

 

EVENT ITINERARY

10:00 am to 2:00 pm American Chestnut Seed and Research Orchard: Direct Seed Planting

12:00 am to 4:00 pm Taylor Fork Ecological Area: Tree Plantings, Treatments, and Honeysuckle Removal

Events Contact: Randy Wilson 859-358-5074

You will be able to find the Louisville Branch of KY-TACF at Gardenaganza on April 30 at the Louisville Nature Center.  On this same day, we will be participating with a display table at the Louisville Zoo's Earth Day Celebration.  Come on out and say hi to the volunteers who will be answering chestnut questions at both events!

Hello spring time!