FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2006

MONTREAT COLLEGE ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION

BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC—Montreat College Associate Professor Brian Joyce is partnering with the American Chestnut Foundation to help restore the American Chestnut to eastern forests by planting 50 seeds collected from surviving American chestnut trees at Montreat College’s Black Mountain campus on Thursday, April 6th at 11am.

Professor Joyce is an associate professor of Environmental Biology and has been at Montreat College for the last ten years. He got involved in the American Chestnut Foundation through his advisor at Penn State, Kim Steiner; a geneticist who is directly involved in the American chestnut restoration effort.

“I am proud to partner with the American Chestnut Foundation,” said Professor Joyce. “Their work has great ecological significance, and will return to the mountains a native species that has been missed for nearly half a century.”

Early in the 20th Century, the American chestnut was one of the most prevalent trees in the eastern forests, accounting for 1 out of every 4 trees in the region. The tree was one of the most important food sources for a variety of wildlife including bears, deer, and turkey. The annual nut crop was valued by rural communities as a cash crop and to feed livestock. Chestnut wood was also highly valued due to its straight grain, strength, and rot resistance, and was used to make everything from fence posts to barn timbers to musical instruments.

On the Montreat College Campus, most of the wood in the historic Gaither Chapel—pews, beams, balcony, doors—and Gaither Fellowship Hall is American chestnut that was harvested locally.

Early in the 1900’s, a fungus from Asia was accidentally introduced into the American forests from infected Chinese chestnut trees. The fungus created a blight that quickly spread throughout the American chestnut’s native range. By 1950 nearly all of the mature American Chestnut trees were wiped out.

The American Chestnut tree is a hardy variety whose roots stay alive despite the current blight and it will produce new sprouts, but as the tree matures and the bark splits, the fungus is introduced and its growth is cut off. The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is working to develop a tree that is essentially an American chestnut with the blight resistance of a Chinese chestnut. This is being accomplished through a process of cross-pollination with the Chinese Chestnut.

“Montreat College is looking forward to getting more involved in the next few years in this program,” said Joyce. “We eventually hope to devote a larger parcel of land to the growth and development of a blight-resistant strain of American chestnut.”

TACF was founded by scientists in 1983 for the purpose of restoring the American chestnut tree to its native range within the woodlands of the eastern United States. It will accomplish its goal using a scientific research and breeding program developed by its founders, and Montreat College is now assisting in the final stages of this blight-resistance breeding program through its first planting of 50 seeds on the Black Mountain campus.

The first phase of the tree planting will take place at 11am on April 6th at the Black Mountain campus of Montreat College.

For more information, please contact Sharon Jehlen, public information officer at 828.669.8012 ext. 3743 or sjehlen@montreat.edu or contact Brian Joyce, Associate Professor of Environmental Biology at 828.669.8012 ext. 3304 or bjoyce@montreat.edu.

Environmental Studies Offers New Field Course

A new Environmental Studies field course will be offered at Montreat College in Fall 2004: ES 460 The Teton of the East: The Natural History of Grandfather Mountain. This course will explore the rich natural history of one of Eastern North America's most beautiful and rugged peaks, Grandfather Mountain. At 5,964 feet in elevation, Grandfather soars 4,000 feet above the surrounding region. Its unique combination of dramatic relief, climate, and weather allow 16 different habitat types (natural communities) to exist in less than 5,000 acres. Course topics will include flora, fauna, geology, climate, weather, soils, and relevant environmental issues. This one-hour course will require one pre-trip meeting, a field study weekend, and a post-trip meeting. For more information on Grandfather Mountain, including a photo gallery, visit the Web site at http://www.grandfather.com. For more information on the Field Studies emphasis for the Environmental Studies degree at Montreat College, please contact Dr. Brad Daniel, Chair, Natural Science Department, at bdaniel@montreat.edu or 828-669-8011, ext. 3307.

Environmental Studies Students Examine Wetland Ecosystems
 
Twenty Montreat College students will visit the coastal plain of North Carolina on a four-day Wetland Ecosystems course (ES 460), April 22-25, 2004. The trip will be lead by Professors Jim Shores and Mike Sonnenberg. The students will focus their learning on the Carolina bays and pocosins (meaning “swamp on a hill”) as well as the Cape Fear River and marshes.

Organic Chemistry Students Engage in Research Projects

Organic Chemistry students in CH 321 are engaged in these research projects during the Spring 2004 semester:

	Aaron Connell: ELISA Analysis of Atrazine Residue in Various Food Sources
	Danie'le Albert: Introductory Micropropagation of Hosta Plant Cell Culture
	Candace Sharpe: Conversion of Waste Vegetable Oils (WVO) into Biodiesel
	Kimberly Braendel: The effectiveness of antibacterial detergents on the success of cultured bacterial colonies in relationship to epidermal microfauna

 
Environmental Studies Major Launches Field Studies Program

The Environmental Studies major offered three new field study courses in August 2003. The field studies emphasis was developed last year. Students have opportunity to study natural areas intensively by actually going to those areas for extended periods of time. The program seeks to provide both depth and breadth of knowledge. The latter is accomplished through a summer course called American Ecosystems, which was developed in the mid-'90s. On this course, students travel on a sleeper bus through the Western United States while studying the flora, fauna, geology, meteorology, climatology, soils, and environmental issues associated with many of the major national parks and monuments. Students are able to experience the diversity afforded by the many altitude zones, life zones, biomes, and ecosystems encountered on the trip. This has involved various modes of travel, including horseback riding, whitewater rafting, snowshoeing, hiking, sea kayaking, and even helicopters. In the past, the itinerary has included the following national parks and monuments:

Painted Desert
Petrified Forest
Grand Canyon
Bryce Canyon
Zion Canyon
Death Valley
Catalina Island
Sequoia
Yosemite
Redwoods
Crater Lake
Mt. St. Helens
Mt. Ranier
Olympic NP 
Hoh Rain Forest
San Juan Islands 
Glacier NP
Yellowstone
Grand Teton
Devil's Tower
Rocky Mountain NP
Black Hills
Badlands
Wind Cave NP

To provide depth of knowledge, a series of shorter intensive field immersion experiences are being developed. Last year, The Natural History of Mt. Mitchell and the Black Mountains and Coastal Ecosystems were developed and taught. This year, three more field study courses were offered in August. Photos from these courses can be viewed at www.montreat.edu/ns/es/field_studies.asp. The new courses were:

The Natural History of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park − taught by Dr. Brian Joyce and Dr. Brad Daniel. Topics covered in this courses included old growth forests, elk reintroduction, biodiversity, flora and fauna of the Smokies, and the impact of exotic pests and air pollution.

The Environmental Perspectives and Cultural History of the Cherokee − taught by Dr. Brad Daniel. Topics included the medicinal use of plants, land use ethics, construction of housing using native materials, hunting tools and techniques, and the impact of casinos on the Cherokee culture. In addition to discussing these topics with Cherokee elders, students visited the Cherokee Historical Museum, the Oconaluftee Village, and the outdoor drama Unto These Hills, which chronicles the story of the Trail of Tears.

Malawi Watersheds − taught by Professor Mike Sonnenberg. The course centered on the abiotic and biotic features of the Malawi watershed region of Africa.

Other courses in development will focus on Chimney Rock/Hickory Nut Gorge and the Grandfather Mountain Biosphere Preserve. For more information on the Field Studies emphasis for the Environmental Studies degree at Montreat College, please contact Dr. Brad Daniel, Chair, Natural Science Department, at bdaniel@montreat.edu or 828-669-8011, ext. 3307.