Find the trees still fighting.
Drone reconnaissance helps us spot flowering chestnuts across a vast landscape. Then the adventure moves to the ground, where volunteers hike in to identify, measure, photograph, and mark each potential survivor.
From sky to stem.
In the higher elevations of Virginia, chestnuts are often in full bloom in early July—when pale flower clusters can stand out against the surrounding canopy.
We search Grayson County and nearby areas for wild American chestnuts that are large enough to flower and may show elevated resistance. Drone imagery can narrow a large landscape to a promising crown. We then hike in, verify the species, record the location, measure the tree, photograph its condition, and return in the right season for pollen, leaf tissue, or scions.
Children and first-time volunteers can be excellent chestnut chasers. The search combines technology, field natural history, mapping, and the excitement of finding a tree that may matter to the future of the species.
What makes a promising find?
It is truly American chestnut
Leaf, twig, bur, and tree-form characteristics are documented, with samples submitted when confirmation is needed.
It has reached reproductive size
A flowering tree has survived long enough to contribute genes and gives us access to pollen or nuts.
It is doing more than merely resprouting
We look closely at crown vigor, stem size, canker response, repeated dieback, and evidence of long-term persistence.
We can find it again
Accurate coordinates, photographs, landowner permission, and field notes transform a sighting into a usable conservation record.
Hiking and finding chestnuts is fun!
Chestnut chasing turns a day in the mountains into a real conservation expedition. Families and young volunteers can follow aerial clues, learn to recognize American chestnut, and experience the excitement of finding a tree that may help restore the species.
Share the search
Chestnut hunts turn a mountain walk into a team adventure, where kids and families learn the landscape together.
Celebrate the find
The payoff is real: seeing the leaves, bark, and form of a living American chestnut and knowing it may matter to restoration.
Your next hike could find a parent of the next generation.
We need drone pilots, hikers, landowners, foresters, photographers, mappers, and careful record keepers.