WHAT: First Fridays Florence Features Meet & Greet with President & CEO of The American Chestnut Foundation
WHEN: Friday, August 7, 2015, 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
WHERE: Court SStreet Historic Downtown Florence, Alabama
ASHEVILLE, NC-The Alabama Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) will host the Foundation’s President & CEO Lisa Thomson at the 10th Anniversary Celebration of First Fridays Florence on August 7th (5:00-8:00 p.m. CST). Thomson and representatives from the Alabama Chapter will meet with festival participants at an informational booth located on Court Street to answer questions about the American chestnut and the Foundation’s breeding program. Literature about TACF’s science and volunteer efforts will be available for all interested participants.
Lisa Thomson
The Meet & Greet celebration marks significant momentum for the Alabama Chapter of TACF. With the recent establishment of the Highland Rim Branch and the formal partnership with the University of North Alabama (UNA), the Alabama Chapter of TACF is broadening its reach across the state. Installation of the Chapter’s first seed orchard is projected in 2019, and Chapter representatives are actively involved in both education initiatives and membership recruitment throughout Alabama.
The Highland Rim Branch of AL-TACF is an effort organized by Will Calhoun, Carmen Burkhalter, and Harris Parker. These dedicated volunteers have joined a citizen advisory board comprised of local businesses in support of TACF’s mission to restore the American chestnut to the forests of its native range, focusing especially on trees with genetic properties unique to Alabama.
In addition, UNA faculty who specialize in sustainability and environmental issues have participated in TACF’s research efforts to restore the “Mighty Giant”. In an effort to further this this collaboration, the UNA Center for Public History will meet with TACF representatives to document the significance of the Shoals and the TVA orchard in the restoration process.
The American chestnut was a keystone species throughout its range in the eastern United States. It also had exceptional economic and cultural significance to rural Americans. At the beginning of the 20th century, a fungal disease was accidentally imported from Asia, and the blight spread rapidly throughout eastern forests. By the 1950s, virtually nothing remained of the species other than occasional seedlings and small sprouts.
In 1983, a committed group of scientists and lay people decided to do
something about this ecological disaster while the species could still be saved. TACF was formed to initiate a complex breeding program to transfer genes containing disease resistance from Asian chestnut species to American chestnut. In just 20 years, these talented scientists and volunteers began to produce the first generation of trees that are 96% American chestnut but contain Asiatic genes for blight resistance. Now supported by more than 5,400 members and hundreds of volunteers in 23 states, the organization is planting and testing offspring of those trees as it continues to build and improve its breeding population. With the aid of many partner organizations, TACF is leading the restoration of an iconic species once on the brink of extinction.
The American Chestnut Foundation is a non-profit conservation organization headquartered in Asheville, NC, with 3 regional offices located in Charlottesville, VA, So. Burlington, VT, and State College, PA. The organization’s research farm in Meadowview, VA has more than 50,000 trees planted in various stages of development.
MEDIA RELEASE/Mr. Jack Agricola,Alabama Chapter,The American Chestnut Foundation
