Stars and STEM Stories
Europe and Eurasia Tree Ring Project in Full Swing
Approximately one year after its beginning, the second phase of the Tree Ring Project commenced with a workshop held on 19-22 September in Pisek, Czech Republic. Sixty five teachers and principals attended from 24 schools including ten from Norway, eight from Croatia and six from the Czech Republic. The Tree Ring Project began in 2011 as a part of the GLOBE Student Climate Research Campaign. Schools in Croatia, Czech Republic, and Norway are working together with scientists over a two-year period to study tree rings and learn how to extract climatic information from these markings.
The students work together with dendroclimatologists to make climate assessments. Goals of the project include 1) students working with scientists to carry out individual research projects, 2) the development of knowledge about other countries, and 3) collaboration between schools. The schools work in partnerships through e-mail communications, Facebook, and occasional face-to-face visits.
At the workshop, each pair of partner schools presented the results of their first year of collaborative research. They also brought their local tree ring cores and analyzed them together with dendroclimatologists Andreas Kirchhefer from Norway and Monika Vejpustkova from the Czech Republic. The day's field activities gave students practice in drilling tree ring cores, investigating soils with basic GLOBE protocols and becoming more familiar with carbon cycle activities. Each school team developed a plan for their next year of research and next year's wrap-up meeting in Norway with two teachers and two students from each participating school.
The Tree Ring project is managed by GLOBE Norway Country Coordinator Karl Torstein Hetland, Croatia Country Coordinator Diana Garasic, and Czech Republic Country Coordinator Ilona Krpcová. This project provides a unique opportunity for students to connect across countries through a common activity and learn about climate in the process; it serves as an excellent model for future student endeavors.
More information about the Tree Ring Project is available on the GLOBE Norway website.
Read more GLOBE Stars from Croatia, Czech Republic, and Norway:
Students put GLOBE Data Collection into Practice at Croatia Annual Competition
14th Annual GLOBE Games Draw Community Involvement in Czech Republic
Teachers Represent GLOBE at International Polar Year Oslo Science Conference
13 December 2012