At the 2015 ReLeaf Conference, you will have the opportunity to go behind the scenes of the SUNY ESF Chestnut Research and Restoration Project. Why is this research so critical? Why is bread mold key to the restoration of the American chestnut (Castanea dentata)? Watch these videos, and just try not to become infected with enthusiasm for this effort!

On ReLeaf Thursday, take a tour with Dr. Chuck Maynard of the laboratory and greenhouse where this groundbreaking research takes place. On Friday, hear the keynote talk from Maynard and Dr. Bill Powell, codirectors of the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project, about restoring the American Chestnut.

How would we recognize an American Chestnut if we saw one?

Here is the full TED Talk by Dr. Powell:

Volunteers planted 500 chestnut seedlings at SUNY ESF for the research program:

As part of the American Chestnut Research and Restoration project at SUNY-ESF, four chestnut seedlings were exposed to chestnut blight: an American chestnut, a Chinese chestnut, and two transgenic American chestnuts with blight resistance. This two-minute time lapse video displays the seedlings’ response to the blight over the course of two weeks.

Dr. Powell showing how American chestnut seedlings are innoculated: