Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan’s tree ring lab and at the Canadian Light Source can’t do it without help from Grades 6 to 8 students across the country. It’s an educational science project where students collect tree and soil samples of trembling aspen to build a timeline of climate and environmental activities over the years.

Dr. Colin Laroque, USask professor and director of the tree ring lab, says they are using trembling aspen because the it grows all over Canada and it does a good job in absorbing contaminants in the air and soil. He explains that they can discern what was happening in what year because of the pollutants found in each of the tree rings.

For example, if it grew close to a factory the chemicals would be found in the rings or you could find fertilizer chemicals if the tree is in a golf course. Laroque compares the trees to a library, collecting information from their growing environment.

He adds that it gets the students outside for some hands-on learning, and hopefully will inspire some of them to love science, all the while giving researchers access to samples from across the country.

Teachers interested in the Trans-Canadian Research and Environmental Education (TREE) program can email: education@lightsource.ca or visit www.tree.lightsource.ca.