TA News

By, Jesse Sweet

The Environmental Studies and Outdoor Education course worked on a unit studying dendrochronology. Dendrochronology is the technique of dating events, environmental change, and archaeological artifacts by using the characteristic patterns of annual growth rings in tree trunks. During this unit we focused on the study of red pine trees. We cored trees, tested soil PH levels and measured the heights and the diameter of each tree. Collecting the data, required a lot of time in the woods, hiking and recording data. Some of the places we traveled to include the Thetford State Forest and at camp Aloha Hive, located on Lake Fairlee.    

To finish the project the class worked collaboratively to create a display in the annex of the white building. The final display includes graphs, photographs, tools and tree core samples collected for research. Each student in our class was responsible for one piece of the display; my contribution was the materials list. 

Putting together the display was like putting together the pieces of a puzzle. Each class member worked individually to create one piece of the puzzle and when put together the display represents a cohesive picture of our study.