Okefenokee RESA Tree

Waycross, Georgia

Loblolly pine (pinus taeda) planted at the Okefenokee Regional Educational Service Agency (OK-RESA, originally the Okefenokee Science Center) in Waycross, Georgia. The date of the planting is unknown, it is a first-generation tree, presumably planted circa 1976. The first sign (below), put up some time after 1996, was replaced sometime before 2019 by the plaque shown at the top.

According to Don Berryhill, the science specialist at Okefenokee Science Center, he was given a Moon Tree seed in spring of 1971 by Dallas Stewart, the Science Specialist for the Georgia Department of Education, shortly after the seeds had returned from the Moon. They managed to nurture it until it was large enough to grow outside, when it was planted at the front of the OK-RESA, date unknown.

The text on the plaque reads:

The "Moon Tree"

Tucked away on the Apollo 14 mission as it lifted
off for the Moon on January 31, 1971, were small
containers carried within the personal flight kit
of astronaut Stuart Roosa. Within his flight kit
were different types of tree seeds. Upon return
to Earth, the seeds were germinated by the
Forest Service. Known as the "Moon Trees," the
resulting seedlings were planted throughout the
United States and the world. Through the efforts
of Don Berryhill, Okefenokee RESA science
consultant, 1970-1996, Waycross became the home
for a Loblolly (pinus taeda) seedling that is now
known as the "Moon Tree."

Upper two left and lower photograph and information courtesy of Reba Smith.
Upper right photograph courtesy of T. Byron Miller

NASA Official: Dave Williams, david.r.williams@nasa.gov
Last Updated: 17 July 2023, DRW