Penn State Altoona student leads American chestnut restoration senior seminar project

ALTOONA, Pa. — There was a time when the American chestnut tree dominated many of the forests in the eastern United States, including in Pennsylvania. But in the early 1900s, a fungal blight swept across the region, essentially decimating the population. Efforts have been underway for decades to create a blight-resistant species and reintroduce the tree into its native range.

Penn State Altoona is playing a small role in the attempt thanks to student Falyn Verner’s senior seminar project.

During their last semester, environmental studies majors in Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies Carolyn Mahan’s senior seminar course are required to plan and complete a project related to ecology. Students come up with their own ideas and often implement them on campus grounds.

Projects have included a stream-side buffer behind the Science Building, a campus rain garden, a turtle basking platform for the reflecting pond, and a monarch butterfly rearing program. This year, students also created and installed a bee habitat and screech owl boxes and monitored spotted lanternfly populations.

As Verner considered her own project for the course, she said she recalled discussions in her environmental history course about native plants and trees that were disrupted through logging or urbanization. She remembered the history of the American chestnut and the impact its loss had on the environment.

Researching the tree, Verner discovered that the American Chestnut Foundation (ACF) has a Pennsylvania and New Jersey Chapter located at and run out of Penn State University Park, a partnership that began in 1997. The chapter’s goal is to develop blight-resistant American chestnut trees by selectively breeding American/Chinese hybrids.

With that, Verner said she had her project idea.

She reached out to the chapter and suggested Seminar Forest as a planting and monitoring site for a hybrid sapling.

Obtained by Penn State Altoona in 2008, Seminar Forest is a 40-acre tract of land located across the Juniata Gap entrance to campus. Open to the public, it includes hiking trails, a restored pond, a fire pit and a replica of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin, another environmental studies student project. The land has been geologically assessed, surveyed for its biodiversity and many professors use it in their curricula.

“I was really excited about bringing the American Chestnut Foundation’s mission to our campus, especially Seminar Forest,” said Verner. “I’m hoping that reintroducing a native species will generate more interest and popularity to the property.”

In April, Verner’s project came together with a ceremonial planting. Four saplings were planted: an American chestnut, a European chestnut, a Chinese chestnut and a control-crossed American chestnut, a hybrid that contains genetics for blight resistance.

Lake Graboski, the north-central regional science coordinator for the ACF, attended the plantings and provided the saplings.

“This is a great way to bring about more awareness, and it also opens opportunities for chestnut research,” Graboski said. “We need more places to test out where and how they withstand blight in forest settings.”

Verner said her hope is for the chestnuts to be incorporated into Penn State Altoona’s overall forestry management plan, meaning the canopy of branches from other trees surrounding them will need to be opened so the chestnuts can grow to their full height.

Verner said she wants people to understand that American chestnut restoration goes beyond the tree itself.

“You can’t take something out of the forest without the entire ecosystem being affected,” she said.

The chestnut tree’s nuts and leaves provide an abundant, nutritious food source for humans and animals alike, Verner said; the loss of this mast — the fruit of woodland trees — has led to wildlife population decline and even the extinction of some insects that relied solely on the chestnut tree. Without the trees' towering heights and wide trunks, critical roosting and cavity-nesting spaces, birds, bats and other arboreal wildlife also were lost. River water quality also suffered because nutrient-rich chestnut leaves provide the base of the food chain for aquatic bugs and the fish that eat them.

“This wasn’t just about me simply liking the American chestnut tree, and it being something easy to plant. It’s about wanting the ecosystem to become its full potential again,” Verner said.

Throughout the summer, biology major Trey Leonard has been monitoring the saplings, watering as needed, and reporting back to Verner, Mahan and Graboski on progress and any issues. A nature lover, Leonard spends a lot of time in Seminar Forest and is familiar with the area.

“I love seeing anything in nature thrive, and I would love to see this project succeed," Leonard said. "It’s an extension of Falyn and now me. I’m excited about it.”

Even though Verner graduated in May 2026, she said she hopes to continue involvement in the project and is excited for the different things that can be done with it in the future. She said the forest could lend itself to further plantings, and depending on their growth, the chestnuts could eventually be added to Penn State Altoona’s ArborScope map of campus trees.

Forest and wildlife technology programs will begin at the college in fall 2027, presenting further opportunities for student involvement and education, Graboski said.

“This is a great chance to reach and teach our students. They’re the ones who will be taking environmental jobs and working to fix the broken things in our forests," Graboski said.

The chestnut trees, their survival rates and blight resistance will continue to be monitored in the coming years.

“Most of these projects on campus usually last for a year or so before they end or aren’t kept up, but this is a long-term project that is easily self-managed,” said Verner.

She added that it’s an important part of biodiversity with far-reaching ecological and cultural impact.

“The American chestnut is more than just a tree," Verner said. "I’m hopeful for its future, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”