8th Annual Chestnut Restoration Celebration in Meadowview, VA

The Southwest Virginia Restoration Branch will hold its 8th Annual Chestnut Restoration Celebration on Saturday, October 14, 2017, 1:00-5:00PM at the Glenn C. Price Research Laboratory. “The Celebration provides a rare opportunity to see the expansion of resources at the Research Farm where blight resistant trees are being developed in order to restore the American Chestnut to our forests” said Stan Tucker, president of SWVA Restoration Branch. Construction of new greenhouses is underway in addition to an operations building that was recently completed. These facilities will enable efficient production of containerized chestnut seedlings for the breeding program.

The Celebration is an opportunity for the public to learn about current restoration efforts while taking a hayride through the orchard. New genomics selection methods will be described that are being developed to evaluate blight resistance and to select the best parents for seed production.

Sample fresh roasted chestnuts and foods made with chestnuts, enjoy freshly pressed apple cider, and taste locally brewed chestnut beer. This year we will offer a limited number of handcrafted chestnut walking sticks. In addition, T-shirts celebrating the Meadowview facilities will be available.

The Pointer Brothers acoustic trio will be back to deliver their entertaining mix of bluegrass, country, and folk. A variety of creative activities for kids will be offered.

Potentially-blight resistant chestnut seedlings will be raffled along with merchandise contributed by local merchants and door prizes will be presented. Free admission, rain or shine, come see us grow!

The Celebration is sponsored by the Southwest Virginia Restoration Branch of the Virginia Chapter of TACF. For more information email SWVABranch@acf.org or call (276) 944-4631.

Membership – One of the best ways to support American chestnut restoration is to join or renew your membership in The American Chestnut Foundation. Regular membership at the $40 level includes TACF e-newsletters, the bi-monthly The Journal magazine, a special TACF car decal, and membership in one of our state chapters. Membership at the Sponsorship level ($300 and above) includes all the above benefits plus potentially blight-resistant Restoration Chestnut 1.0 seeds. Another way you can contribute is by signing up to volunteer. Come to the Celebration to learn about volunteer opportunities. Membership details can be found at www.tacf.org and will be available at the event.

About The American Chestnut Foundation – In 1983, a dedicated group of scientists formed The American Chestnut Foundation and began a special breeding process which, in 2005, produced the first potentially blight-resistant American-type trees suitable for widespread testing called Restoration Chestnuts 1.0. Now assisted by almost 6,000 members and volunteers in 16 state chapters, TACF has developed a sophisticated chestnut breeding program with over 300 breeding orchards located throughout the eastern US. The mission of The American Chestnut Foundation is to restore the American chestnut tree to its native range.

Directions to Glenn C. Price Research Farm, 29010 Hawthorne Drive, Meadowview, VA 24361: Take I-81 exit 22; if traveling northbound, take a right at end of ramp, if traveling southbound, take a left; Travel ½ mile on Enterprise Road, take a left on Lee Highway (US-11); Travel 1 ¼ mile, take a right on Hawthorne Drive, and travel ½ mile to Glenn C. Price Research Farm on right; just beyond Indoor Farms Greenhouses.