Sunday July 21
10 to 11:30 AM
Join Forest Society staff and special guest Tom Rush as we host a Sunday morning tour of the Forest Society's American Chestnut seed orchard on the 303-acre Tom Rush Forest in center of Deering, NH. This field excursion is being offered as part of the Town of Deering's 250th anniversary celebration. Learn how the partnership with the American Chestnut Foundation has evolved and changed with shifting science of Chestnut genetics and resistance to chestnut blight. We’ll share the natural and cultural history of property including its ties to the folk legend.
The Tom Rush Forest is home to the Forest Society's American Chestnut Orchard, a collaborative community science project with the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF). The orchard is part of an effort to restore the American chestnut, after a fungal blight wiped out most mature chestnut trees in North America by 1950. These trees are American chestnuts that have been backcrossed with a Chinese chestnut that is resistant to the blight. They are tended by local Forest Society volunteers and staff. Once they reach breeding maturity, they will be crossbred to help increase the genetic diversity of the most promising blight-resistant strains of American chestnut known to TACF.
There are tall grasses in the fields that surround the orchard, so you may want to wear long pants and closed toed shoes. Bring a water bottle if it is a hot day!
Pre-registration is not required for this field trip, and there is no cost to attend. We will meet at 10am at the green Forest Society gate (entrance to Tom Rush Forest) off Gregg Hill Road (see directions below). If you have questions, please contact Dave Anderson (danderson@forestsociety.org) or Carrie Deegan (cdeegan@forestsociety.org). Hope to see you there!
Directions:
The Tom Rush Forest is accessed from an entrance road off Gregg Hill Road, across from the Deering Community Church, in the center of Deering. Walking to the orchard from Gregg Hill Road involves an 800' uphill walk up a gravel road.
Please park at Deering Town Hall or along upper Gregg Hill Road. Look for green gate entrance to Tom Rush Forest woods road.