Reviving The American Chestnut Restoring Abundance in Mid-Atlantic Forests by Planting Trees — with Kids By Joseph Resch & Lauren Krumm
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An American chestnut resprout on Long Island, NY. This is most likely a remnant of what was once a healthy tree a century ago.
traditions, it was soon to grow. After experiencing firsthand the enthusiasm of magine a woodland of towering trees, some over one hundred feet tall with trunks up to fifteen feet across, and a thick layer of delicious nuts blanketing the participants and volunteers, it became clear to the Antinanco team that expanding on the program was inevitable and would be of great benefit to all. its floor. The creatures bustle about, gathering as much of the precious food There are no fully chestnut blight-resistant seeds or seedlings yet available, as they can. Allegheny woodrats and other rodents add chestnuts to their though there are organizations such as the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment winter caches, bears have a buffet, flocks of passenger pigeons and wild turkeys hurriedly gulp them down, and even humans could be seen collecting basketfuls Station and the American Chestnut Foundation working diligently on solutions to this. So, we selected seedlings for planting from surviving American chestof this rich source of nutrition. This would have been a common scene in parts of the Eastern United States, nut trees with the ability to resist the blight enough to flower and produce nuts. where the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) trees were once a keystone spe- This method will provide a new generation of trees that can be monitored for blight-resistance, as well as help preserve the genetics of cies in our forests. A chestnut blight was introduced to the surviving native trees we have been left with. From North American in the early 1900s with the importation those trees, the individuals that demonstrate the ability of Japanese chestnut trees, and by the early 1940s, the funto grow strongly and produce nuts can be used to help gus had killed virtually all native American chestnut trees is committed breed even more tenacious generations in the future. in the United States and Canada. Antinanco is a non-profto preserving Adding to our mission to revive this keystone species it organization based in Holmdel, New Jersey, and our traditional at a time when it is needed most, we have begun expandcommunity of families, friends, and volunteers is helping ing the diversity of our planting sites with other native bring these and other native food-producing plants back and indigenous knowledge trees. Wherever possible, we utilize spaces that have been to our forests. beyond the classroom walls left by other trees which are unfortunately declining due The original idea was to hold a tree planting workshop to invasive pests. After all, as the old adage goes, variety for kids, and focus on restoring trees which both needthrough nature experiences, ed help in repopulating, and which could add the greathands-on projects, international is the spice of life. The more we can provide diverse food sources for our wildlife, the more resilient their popuest value to the ecosystem. The American chestnut was cultural exchange programs lations, as well as our ecosystems will be. The canopy chosen not only because of its unfortunate demise and space once occupied by an ash tree for example, which functionally extinct status, but its great potential to help and environmental unfortunately may have lost its battle with the invasive feed our dwindling wildlife populations and possibly even conservation projects. emerald ash borer, can be replanted with another species people, as it did long ago. The inspiration to choose a tree that needs help reestablishing, and enjoys similar site with this potential comes from the examples that our indigenous brothers and sisters have set for us, which show that the land can be conditions. While our primary focus so far has been to reintroduce the American gently cared for in a way that creates habitat for a diversity of life, by intentionally chestnut tree, we want to make sure there are as many species as possible producing food for humans and wildlife at any given site. cultivating native plant species in order to feed this life. Many gardeners may be aware of a concept called companion planting, in In November of 2018, amidst a blanket of fresh wet snow, a group of roughly which different species of plants are intentionally grown in close proximity to fifteen children, adults, and a cute dog named Gigi set out upon a rustic farm in Eastern Pennsylvania to plant chestnut seedlings. Under the leadership of Joseph each other to make use of specific benefits they may provide. Antinanco has incorporated plantings of other native species with the chestnuts, some with the Resch, who assumed the position of the American Chestnut Revival Project Leader shortly thereafter, the group planted twenty-six trees with love and careful intent of possibly aiding the chestnuts’ growth and health, and others in order to expand the diversity of food production on the sites. intent, named, and protected them from deer with funny-looking white plastic For example, herbaceous perennial plants such as false indigo (Baptisia austratubes. The seeds, or rather, seedlings, were sown. Though this was just one activilis) and slender bushclover (Lespedeza virginica) were added near the trees to ty in a weekend-long event focused on practicing and preserving Earth-centered
ANTINANCO
66 Spirit of Change | SPRING/SUMMER 2022
Photos courtesy Antinanco
