Since learning about the near destruction of the American chestnut tree, Bertrand Township’s Tom Wrasse has been on a mission to restore the once-great species.

“I just think it is a very good cause to get behind,” said Wrasse, who is spearheading an effort to plant an American chestnut restoration orchard on a portion of land owned by Bertrand Township, just north of the township hall.

The trees will be placed during a ceremony at 3 p.m. Saturday behind the township hall, which is located at 3835 Buffalo Road in Buchanan.

Members of Boy Scout Troop 541 will assist with the planting. Materials were donated by the First Presbyterian Church of Buchanan.

“It is going to take some time, but eventually generations down the road will get to take advantage of these trees,” said Steve Hicks, supervisor of the Bertrand Township Board of Trustees, which approved the orchard earlier this year.

According to the American Chestnut Foundation, the American chestnut tree was nearly wiped out in the early to mid 1900s by a lethal fungus infection known as “chestnut blight.” Four billion trees died, greatly impacting areas of the U.S. that had grown dependent on the trees.

The American Chestnut Foundation was formed in 1984 to restore the trees to their rightful place in the forest. Members did this by transferring the natural resistance of the blight in Asian chestnuts to the American trees.

The orchard in Bertrand Township, Wrasse said, will be part of the effort.

“When I heard about what the American Chestnut Foundation was doing my interest was piqued,” said Wrasse, who is a member of Indiana’s ACF chapter (there is not one in Michigan). “I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Wrasse is donating to the orchard 10 trees he has been growing in a greenhouse on his property since the spring. He got the seeds from the Purdue Forestry Department. The trees are about 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall currently and will take seven years to produce chestnuts.

Wrasse will be responsible for maintaining the trees.

In order to plant the restoration orchard, the township signed an agreement stating that the trees cannot be used for commercial purposes.

However, Wrasse said people could still use the chestnuts for cooking and even plant them in their own backyards.

The (ACF) wants to document the progress of the those trees,” he said, “and use them possibly to further the genetics and blight resistance of the trees for generations to come.”

The public is invited to Saturday’s ceremony.