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Native tree nurseries need more locally adapted seeds. Join the Forest Seed Network and help rebuild our Eastern Forests. Free training.
Get paid to collect seeds.
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We need seeds from many species. Click here to see a list of our most urgent priorities.
Joining is as simple as send us an e-mail. There are no fees or costs. Get paid to collect seeds.
ArcheWild is building a new seed collection network to support the reforestation priorities of the mid-Atlantic and New England.
New York state, for example, has committed to planting more than 25 million new trees to rebuild forests on fallow land. We’re talking about forest trees, not urban or landscaping trees.
We need white oak, white pine, black birch, sugar maple, red maple, black oak, and bur oak seeds from healthy private forests from across the region.
Each seed collection site gets mapped to both an EPA Ecoregion and a USFS Seed Transfer Zone (STZ) so that reforesters can select tree crops best suited for their tree planting location.
Seeds you collect are then grown in your state, by regional tree nurseries, boosting our local economies.
The era of the generic, low-cost bareroot tree grown on farms in Georgia or Tennessee are over.
Time to usher in a modern forestry, grown right here at home.
Join our network today and get paid to collect seeds.
Our Reforestation Practice
Successful reforestation takes more than simply buying low-cost bareroot trees and getting them into the ground. Did you know that 88% of reforestation and riparian forest buffer projects fail to meet expectations?
Our inhouse R&D team has been implementing and studying reforestation projects for nearly twenty years and have identified several make-it-or-break-it activities and decisions.
The most important turns out to be having your reforestation project evaluated by a practicing ecologist to identify the mosaic of soil-water-light combinations present on your land. Without this fundamental understanding of how your land functions, and how is likely to function in the future, you could just be winging the entire project.
Second, choosing the correct reforestation species is of paramount importance. It’s not about planting what you or your forester says you should plant. It’s about what your land can ecologically support, in its current condition and in the future.
Plant form is another major consideration. Do you use $0.50 bareroot trees delivered in a box or do you use containerized plants, or do you need a specialized product like ArcheWild’s containerless line?
An experienced planter not only plants well, but they know how to find the most suitable planting site for each tree. Through rigorous training and practice, they find the best micro-topography and best planting conditions for each tree or shrub. We have found that experience alone can improve reforestation outcomes by up to 25%
Fort Indiantown Reforestation
This reforestation project was designed to improve the quality of the forest on the miliatary base, which had degraded due to weather pattern changes, insect damage, and human activities.
ArcheWild planted more than 50,000 trees grown from mostly PA-sourced seeds. Timelines were very compressed, so ArcheWild deployed a large team, pulling from other departments to get the job done before summer.
We replaced the dying ash and silver maple forests with a more site-appropriate mix of white pine, oaks, and hickories, among others.
Red Spruce Restoration
Red spruce terminal forests were harvested almost out of existence in the 19th century, and they cannot recover without our help.
Agencies in West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania have been working hard for decades to rebuild these forest habitats for hares and warblers, and ArcheWild has been supporting them along the way with plants and planting teams.
A new 200-acre red spruce restoration project is starting up in 2025 in Pennsylvania and ArcheWild ecologists are leading the planting plan and the planting teams.
Call ArcheWild for all of your red spruce restoration needs.
Upland and Dry Forest
Upland reforestation is challenging. Pine barrens, cedar glades, and dry exposed ridges require special techniques. The dry and sroughty nature of these soils prohibit the use of typical bareroot, so ArcheWild developed an innovative product that bridges the gap between bareroot and 3g containers; one that we call “containerless trees.” Look for the upcoming report on their efficacy.
Temporary deer fencing protects the plants seedlings, naturally-occuring regeneration, and recovering forbs with an installation cost the same as tubes/stakes, but without the maintenance expense.
Afforestation
Some farm fields, particularly those rented out for several decades, have reached the end of their useful life, even for hay. What to do next? Build a forest! But wait, it’s not that easy.
If a farm field cannot grow hay, how would forest seedlings fair?
Building a new forest where there hasn’t been one for hundreds of years requires improving the soil by greatly increasing its water holding capacity and its carbon and nitrogen content using nurse trees.
Building soils is not agroforestry, it is an essential first step in afforestation without which a new forest planting can fail.
Repairing Forest Damage
Hurricanes, straight wind, tornados, insects, and climate change are damaging forests throughout the mid-Atlantic. In many areas, disturbed forests cannot repair themselves, they become invasive infestations and subject to erosion.
Protecting water quality and wildlife habitat mandates that we repair damaged forests quickly.
The ArcheWild forestry team is ready to act on a moment’s notice and tackle the clearing, pre-emptive invasive control, replanting, and reseeding that are essential post-storm and post-damage activities.
Reforestation Product Forms
Reforestation products are specialty forms typically grown by restoration companies and can be grown under contract. They are not normally sold as landscaping products.
“Containerless,” restoration gallons, root pruned, and tubelings each have their own unique cost/performance characteristics are are chosen based on the needs of each project.
Call ArcheWild to explore your options and have the best product form custom grown for your next reforestation project.