Important Tree Species Thrives at Mon Power’s Harrison Power Station

This holiday season, you’re bound to hear the song “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” but you probably haven’t been offered any actual roasted chestnuts. That’s because American chestnut trees that once made the nuts so abundantly available in the 1800s are now a rare site. It’s a tree species some people, including Harrison Power Station employees in West Virginia, are trying to help bring back.  

While Mon Power employees operate Harrison’s massive generation equipment to produce electricity for West Virginians, they are also caring for seven young trees on the ground just below. 

One employee in particular, Jon Durbin, a technical services supervisor at the plant, grew the seedlings in his refrigerator at home.

"Growing chestnut tree seedlings started as something I just wanted to see if I could do, and it's turned into a hobby. For the last three years, I’ve been gathering nuts dropped by the chestnut tree in my yard. They need a cold, damp place to germinate, so I put them in my refrigerator. It usually takes all winter," Durbin said. "In the spring, I move the seedlings outside to plots so that they can continue to grow and get used to elements like the wind."

View photos of seedlings a Mon Power employee grew on the company’s Flickr page.

The American chestnut trees that once dominated the country’s eastern forest canopy provided a valuable food source for wildlife and humans, high-quality timber and the opportunity to eliminate carbon to have a positive impact on the environment, according to the American Chestnut Tree Foundation (ACTF).

American chestnut trees were nearly wiped out in the 1900s, after settlers introduced Chinese Chestnut trees that unknowingly brought along an invasive pathogen, known as a blite.

The trees planted in part of Harrison’s pollinator habitat last fall are called Dunstan Chestnut Trees, bred to be a majority American chestnut but also include genes from other species, to help it survive.

Harrison’s trees are about two or three feet tall now. Employees put small fences around them to help prevent them from being eaten or trampled as they mature.  

“Having the trees at Harrison is environmentally friendly in a lot of ways. As they grow, the trees will produce food for the many deer and other wildlife living around the power plant,” Durbin said. “Another benefit of planting trees in general is that they absorb caron and give off oxygen, which is good for the environment.”

So far this year, the company has planted nearly 25,000 trees across its service territory, including 5,000 in West Virginia. Tree plantings and giveaways support FirstEnergy’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, promote the responsible use of natural resources and further the advancement of sustainable practices. 

Learn more about FirstEnergy's commitment to environmental initiatives at www.firstenergycorp.com/environmental.

MEDIA CONTACT: Hannah Catlett, (440) 554-5346