In the May issue of GRID, Urban Naturalist Bernard Brown tells you about the plight of the American chestnut tree and how you can help it in its comeback. He writes today with more info:
The natural range of the American chestnut | photo courtesy patacf.orgDo you want to help bring the Chestnut back from the brink of extinction? Most of the hard work of the chestnut recovery is being done by volunteers with a little yard space and a lot of passion.
- You can plant a chestnut tree and breed it with others to improve the blight-resistant hybrids
- You can wander the great backwoods of Pennsylvania locating new specimens (they’re always looking for more wild survivors to expand the breeding effort’s genetic base)
- And you can even get involved in the education and outreach effort.
Start by checking out the PA Chapter-American Chestnut Foundation). Want to leverage the PA-TACF’s resources? They’re always happy to talk to other groups and clubs about their efforts and how volunteer conservationists can get involved.
