Greenwich Tree Conservancy Chestnut Partnership with Greenwich Land Trust
The Greenwich Tree Conservancy in partnership with the Greenwich Land Trust maintains a stand of blight resistant chestnut trees. This partnership began as a jointly funded planting on a Land Trust Preserve and is part of a larger project by the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF).
TACF’s mission to return the iconic American chestnut tree to its native range involves breeding genetically diverse blight resistant trees, evaluating various approaches to manage chestnut tree pests and pathogens, and reintroducing trees into the forest in an ecologically acceptable manner. TACF aims to be successful through the development of effective partnerships with organizations in the eastern states. Tree plantings placed in a variety of environments produce genetically diverse and regionally adaptable trees. The aim of these partnerships is to provide reliable feedback over many years.
325 trees are thriving in Greenwich today. The height of the trees range from 5-20 feet. 2019 is the third year the trees have produced burrs and nuts. In October a joint harvest was attended by over 25 people and yielded many viable nuts.
On September 23rd, 2020 Dan Barrett from Greenwich Land Trust and JoAnn Messina, from GTC hosted an afternoon event at our joint American Chestnut Sanctuary. Dan gave everyone a tour and an education on the history of the American Chestnut and efforts underway to reintroduce blight resistant trees back into the wild. Participants harvested chestnuts from which seeds will be propagated allowing new trees to be planted. .
