There is a place for you in the cycle.
You do not need to be a geneticist, forester, climber, or expert grafter. Bring curiosity, patience, and a willingness to learn.
Ways to participate.
Project needs shift with weather, flowering, harvest, and the condition of the trees. These are the recurring roles that keep the work moving.
Chestnut chasers
Hike to drone leads and known survivors; identify, photograph, measure, flag, and map trees.
Pollen crews
Collect flowering material, process catkins, label pollen, and support controlled pollinations.
Orchard crews
Prune, selectively thin, clear brush, monitor health, maintain labels, and help the selected trees thrive.
Grafting crews
Collect scions, prepare rootstocks, learn bench grafts, and bark-graft established resprouts.
Growers & planters
Raise family groups in nursery beds, plant replicated trials, and protect young trees.
Data volunteers
Scan leaves, enter records, manage photographs, build maps, and help keep pedigrees clean.
Workshops turn interest into capacity.
Hands-on training in grafting, planting, pollen work, tree identification, and recordkeeping allows more volunteers to take responsibility for a piece of the breeding cycle.
Start with the season.
| Season | Likely activities | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Winter | Scion collection, planning, grafting preparation | Hikers, pruners, organizers |
| Spring | Grafting, orchard work, planting, tissue collection | Hands-on learners, growers |
| Summer | Pollen, controlled crosses, drone work, wild-tree searches | Families, pilots, hikers, climbers |
| Fall | Harvest, seed processing, bare-root planting, data review | All ages, careful labelers, planters |
Join through the organizations doing the work.
Grayson LandCare provides the local community network. The Virginia Chapter of TACF connects the work to statewide breeding, research, and restoration. The Virginia Department of Forestry manages Matthews State Forest and its research orchards.
Project dates depend on tree phenology, weather, access, and partner scheduling. Contact the partner organizations for current opportunities.
Bring a friend. Bring a child. Bring a question.
The restoration of a long-lived forest tree requires continuity across generations. The community we build is part of the restoration strategy.