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To save the
endangered American chestnut tree, local activists and students will
plant and nurture an orchard. Then, most of the young trees that
sprout will be killed.
Armuchee
Elementary third- through fifth-graders lent a hand at Berry College
on Wednesday, planting nuts in pots that will hopefully grow into
American chestnut seedlings.
Those that
sprout will be planted this fall in an allotted plot near Berry’s Old
Mill, where the planters hope to establish the very first American
chestnut tree orchard in the state of Georgia.
The
elementary students have already planted their own “mini grove” of
the seedlings on the Armuchee campus.
“It’s really
fun,” said fourth-grader Kara Murray after potting her nut. “After
all the trees that died, we get to plant more and maybe they will
spread and we can get more chestnut trees.”
So where
does killing the trees not even yet planted in the new Berry orchard
come in?
A
deadly fungus virtually wiped out the once prevalent species from
American forests between 1910 and 1950. The American Chestnut
Foundation estimates that around 3.5 billion trees were lost.
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To restore the
tree to its native forests, the foundation has developed a
cross-breeding program to develop blight-resistant trees. After being
planted in the orchard, the new trees will be given five to six years
to grow. After they have reached a certain size, holes will be
drilled into the trees and the blight will be placed within them,
said ACF board member Tom Pachinger, who helped students plant the
nuts on Wednesday.
Most will
die. However, those that don’t will be used to cross-pollinate with
other American chestnut trees to create more blight-resistant trees.
“We’re just
trying to get young people involved, and get the story out to them,
and create an interest,” Pachinger said as he watched students
eagerly line up with pot, soil and nut in hand to wait to have it
watered. “Maybe 10 to 15 years from now we’ll have these trees back
out in the woods.”
The Armuchee
students enjoyed the chance to be outdoors and play in the dirt.
Fourth-grader Morgan Bragg said that her favorite part was sticking
her hands into the wet soil. However, they were also carrying away
some of the larger lesson.
“I think
that it’s really special just getting to come here and do this,
because it’s going to be the first American chestnut tree orchard in
Georgia,” said fourth-grader Matt Ozier. “The best thing that I’ve
learned is that the American chestnut trees may have a chance of
living.” |
