Rick Caldwell, a longtime Bernheim staff member, was recently elected as the President of the Kentucky Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (ACF). The mission of the ACF is to restore the American chestnut to our eastern forests in order to benefit our environment, our wildlife, and our society. Rick’s leadership reinforces Bernheim’s desire to make an impact not just within our 14,600-acre forest, but also outside our borders. Rick has long been involved with the ACF, attending regular meetings with other land stewards to discuss best practices for protection and reintroduction of the American Chestnut. With his effort, Bernheim can help lead the way for others to protect this magnificent tree.
Here at Bernheim, we are working to better understand the possibility of reintroducing the American chestnut to our native forest and aid in restoration efforts. Over the past few years, several young American Chestnut trees have been planted throughout the arboretum and forest in order to try and reintroduce them to our landscape and for research purposes to see how they grow in this region. To learn more about the American chestnut, revisit our piece from the Vanishing Acts: Trees Under Threat series.