The seed gatherers - identification and collection of historic tree seed and reproduction for America's Historic Forests program - Focus

American Forests, Jan-Feb, 1991 by Elizabeth Chase Morrow, Richard J. Crouse

EA0039

"Can you help us by collecting acorns from the Helen Keller Oak?"

Speaking is Susan Fisher, volunteer coordinator for The Classic Tree Nursery, a nationally known company that is growing trees for America's Historic Forests. The nursery orchestrates the collecting of seeds from historic and national champion trees, and then nurtures the seeds into seedlings to be planted in the Historic Forests.

Working out of the nursery's headquarters-a converted dairy barn in jacksonville, Florida-Fisher coordinates a growing network of volunteer seed collectors across the nation.

Her interest in Historic Forests comes out of her own background as a community volunteer. Fisher has seen the tragedies that the loss of trees can wreak on an urban environment. And she has done something about it. She and a friend started Greenscape, a local tree-planting organization, before Fisher signed on with the Historic Forests program.

Global ReLeaf coordinators and cooperators are helping her develop the network of seed collectors. In March 1990, Global ReLeafers read the first issue of Classic Tree News, a newsletter designed to provide updates on the Historic Forests program, alert volunteer collectors to trees that are seeding, and recognize volunteers for outstanding contributions to the project.

The timing was right. Phone calls flooded in. Readers asked for seed-collection kits or called to tell Fisher of a tree in their community that belonged in the Historic Tree collection.

One of the volunteers Fisher enlisted was Harriett Edwards of Florence, Alabama, a member of the town's tree commission, which helps protect the community's green resources. Fisher asked, "Can you collect acorns from the Helen Keller Oak?"

"I had read a couple of issues of the newsletter when Susan called," says Edwards, explaining how she happened to go acorning at Ivy Green, the estate in Tuscumbia, Alabama, where Helen Keller was born.

Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life, and the movie, The Miracle Worker, tell the story of how Keller climbed the tree during a thunderstorm. Oblivious to the storm because of her hearing and visual impairments, Keller had to be rescued by her teacher.

Harriett Edwards went to pick the Keller acorns in late September. In seed collection, timing is critical. Missing a seed cycle means months or even years of lost time since some trees do not produce seeds annually.

"No plastic, please!" horticulturist Gene Gruenbeck, who develops the Historic Forests collection calendar, told Edwards. 'Plastic is airtight, so moisture accumulates and spoils the seeds."

Placing the Keller acorns in a paper sack, Edwards shipped them to The Classic Tree Nursery, which has established a network of some of the finest growers in the nation. Among them are Chestnut Hill Nursery, the largest producer of chestnut trees in the U.S., and Glen St. Mary Nurseries, noted for introducing fruit trees such as the Japanese persimmon. Classic Tree shipped the Keller acorns to Bob Byrnes at Trail Ridge Nursery in Keystone Heights, Florida.

"We've received seeds from all over the country," Byrnes says. Some of them are from trees that are quite old. For example, we worked with an American Holly that George Washington himself planted at Mount Vernon." Byrnes says that he went into that one pessimistically because older trees don't bear as many viable seeds. Nevertheless, it worked, and Byrnes attributes the success to the tree's vigor.

At 150 to 180 years old, the Keller Oak also ranks as an aging tree, but it too is in good condition. Harriett Edwards envisions a time when people will walk in the shade of its descendants and learn how Helen Keller overcame her disabilities.

Okay, so the volunteers send in seeds, and designated growers such as Bob Byrnes nurture them into seedlings. What next?

"We make sure we keep strict control of what we have," says Byrnes."We take extreme measures to keep the inventory straight." The reason is to ensure the accuracy of a Certificate of Authenticity that is issued to those who plant a tree in America's Historic Forests (see -How to Help" on page 42).

The next step is planting the seedlings in a Historic Forest, where they will be nurtured and cared for as tenderly as most of their progenitors are.

Like Keller's hometown, most communities can boast of a beloved tree that symbolizes its history. But even well-loved trees don't live forever.

"I call it my loving tree," says Josephine Leuzzi, of New Hope, Pennsylvania, another volunteer seed collector. She is referring to the Columbus Oak, a white oak thought to be 507 years old, according to ring borings.

Leuzzi and her neighbors consider themselves the guardians and caretakers of the Columbus Oak. A class at nearby Council Rocks Intermediate School raised money for a small trust fund to help maintain the tree. Leuzzi welcomes the hundreds of visitors each year who come to see the majestic tree, but like other tree owners, she appreciates it if they ask permission first.

Helping obtain permission for collecting seeds-whether the historic tree is on private or public property-is another of Susan Fisher's jobs. "We respect each owner's requirements," she says, when we ask permission to include their tree in the America's Historic Forests collection' " Sometimes volunteers help smooth the way.