The Tree’s Tale

Kevin, Nadine, and Dad looked at the huge tree lying in their backyard. “ I can’t believe the storm blew our tree down, ” said Nadine. Tears filled her eyes. “ I loved climbing that tree, ” Kevin said sadly. Dad sighed. “ This old oak tree was here when my dad built this house. ”

A truck pulled into the driveway. Workers with chainsaws got out. The workers cut off the small branches. Then they cut into the thick trunk. Sawdust filled the air. With a giant crack, the trunk broke in half. “ It has rings of wood inside! ” said Nadine. “ Most trees add one ring every year, ”

said Dad. “ We can count the rings to find the tree’s age. ” Kevin and Nadine took turns counting. “ Our tree was 213 years old! ” Nadine said. “ That’s right, and it has a tale to tell, ” said a lady behind them. “ You must be Dr. Learner, ” said Dad. She smiled at the kids.

“ Dr. Learner is taking a slab for the Tree Ring Lab. It’s at the University of Arizona, ” said Dad. Dr. Learner explained that the Tree Ring Lab had two million tree samples. “ Trees build a picture of the earth’s history, ” she said. She pointed to a thin ring in the trunk. “ This year had little rain, so your tree did not grow very much. ”

“ Cool! ” said Nadine, pointing to a thick ring. “ This year was rainy. ” “ Trees are like a weather calendar! ” said Kevin. “ More than that, ” said Dr. Learner. She pointed to a twisted ring. “ This scar shows that something unusual happened—likely a fire.

Trees can tell us about big events. A tree would grow less if a hurricane blew off its leaves. Or if a volcano erupted. ” Kevin laughed. “ People would remember a volcano eruption! ” Dr. Learner showed them a picture of a tree slab. It was twice as tall as a man. “ This tree grew from 212 to 1913. ”