2023 Poster Session
Tyler Fishman, Kay Gardiner, Dayanara Magallanes, Mike DaSilva, Nicole Davi
William Paterson University, 300 Pompton Rd, Wayne, NJ 07470
Abstract
The department of Environmental Science at William Paterson University (WPU) has been cooperating with members of TACF & ACCF and seeks to bring awareness to the plight of the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata). We recognize this tree was once an integral part of our ecosystem. WPU actively grows American chestnuts from seed. Facilities at William Paterson University have cooperated with environmental staff to set aside an orchard for future plantings of Darling 58 chestnut trees in full public view; this orchard will be the first of its kind on a university campus. An orchard will allow us to cross our pure American chestnut trees with the transgenic D-58’s for genetically diverse stock. This orchard will create a unique work experience for students and faculty alike and be a critical hub for chestnut tree propagation. For now, to spread awareness and garner public attention, our campus has been using ArcGIS software with our current PAC to create a virtual story map of the trees around campus, such that they can be viewed on google maps for a virtual “tour”. William Paterson has been working with point-dendrometers to better understand how campus trees are responding to climate change and climate extremes and generate hourly data of radial growth. We hope to install them on both D-58 and PAC in the future.