Mission Statement

With the understanding that youth have the power and responsibility to forge and protect a sustainable Earth, the Pittsburgh Student Environmental Coalition will unite and empower the young people of Pittsburgh to influence positive change in our community’s natural environment through action, education, and the sharing of resources.

About PSEC

Our Logo

The American Chestnut was a tree that used to dominate much of Pennsylvania’s forests and its nuts were a valuable cash crop for the region. At the beginning of the 20th century an invasive fungus nearly eliminated all of the old-growth American Chestnut trees over the course of a few decades. A few trees still grow, though they rarely survive past the sapling stage.

Fortunately the Chinese Chestnut carries a dominant gene that makes it resistant to the fungus and it can be cross-pollinated with the American Chestnut. Years of meticulous hybridizations have produced trees that are 97% American but still carry the gene for fungus resistance. The trial plantings of this new cross were best suited for large open areas with acidic rocky soil…like former strip mining sites! So far the project has been going very well, and maybe one day the tree will be back to its former glory.

So why is this the perfect type of leaf for us!

• It’s a young species
• It’s a hybrid (like we are a hybrid of different schools)
• It restores old mines
• It stands for a story of environmental hope in PA