‘When in doubt, plant a nut tree’: the push to seed America with chestnuts

Chestnut forests could provide food security for communities, be a boon for farmers and benefit the environment

Michael Judd strides among the chestnut trees on the four-hectare (10-acre) swath of land that he manages in Frederick, Maryland. The trees spread above him, the last few nuts dangling from the branches like Christmas ornaments. Covering the ground is a soup of dead leaves, hiding spiky chestnut shells. Judd, 49, a lanky man who wears a different-colored woolen beanie every day, picks one up and demonstrates how easy it is to pop it open and reveal the nutritious morsel inside.

Judd bought this six-decade-old orchard to conduct experiments in service of his grander mission: to help plant 1m nut trees across the US's mid-Atlantic region, chief among them the chestnut.