How do trees help us predict and prepare for changing climate conditions?
Severe weather events are becoming more frequent. While farmers look for ways to adapt for the future, researchers are searching for clues from the past through tree growth rings. Through conversations with researchers, farmers, and artists, Ami explores how creativity and curiosity can help pave the way for collaborative climate solutions.
Let's take a look
Meet the Changemakers
Get to know the historians. Each historian in this episode has a card with information about that historian.
There are 3 cards to read.
Chris Wilson
7th Generation Farmer
I raise dairy cows and grow good food while inventing better ways to farm organic in a changing climate.
Evan Larson
Professor & Dendrochronologist
As a professor, I have the honor and privilege to learn from the land with my students and collaborators so we can be better members of this amazing community of life on Planet Earth!
Evelyn Zadzilka
College Student
I am an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Genetics and Science Communication.
Ask questions!
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How do trees build their rings?
How do scientists use tree rings to look back in time?
View Transcript: English Transcript
Quote from a historian
“That’s the fun of science, is that we’re figuring it out. We know what we need to do. We need to learn more from the trees, we need to better understand our climate, and we need to keep pushing that understanding forward.”
Evan Larson
Bibliography
Becker, Emily. “What We Talk about When We Talk about the Jet Stream and El Niño” | NOAA Climate.Gov.” Climate.Gov, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 29 Sept. 2023, www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-jet-stream-and-el-nino.
“Extreme Weather and Climate Change” NASA, NASA, 23 Oct. 2024, science.nasa.gov/climate-change/extreme-weather/.
Eakin, Dan, and Elizabeth Horton. “Dendrochronology – The Study of Tree Rings” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/articles/archeology-dendrochronology.htm. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
“Focus on Croplands in the Northern Plains.” Focus on Croplands in the Northern Plains | USDA Climate Hubs, www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/northern-plains/topic/focus-croplands-northern-plains. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
Lambers, Hans. “Photosynthesis | Definition, Formula, Process, Diagram, Reactants, Products, & Facts” | Britannica.” Photosynthesis, Britannica, 17 June 2026, www.britannica.com/science/photosynthesis.
Martinez, Lori. Crossdating – the Basic Principle of Dendrochronology, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, The University of Arizona, Feb. 2000, www.ltrr.arizona.edu/lorim/basic.html.
Mason, John. “A Rough Guide to the Jet Stream: What It Is, How It Works and How It Is Responding to Enhanced Arctic Warming” Skeptical Science, 22 May 2013, skepticalscience.com/jetstream-guide.html.
“Monoculture” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monoculture. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
“Trees Lab.” University of Wisconsin – Platteville, University of Wisconsin – Platteville, www.uwplatt.edu/department/trees-lab. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
“What Are Proxy Data?” National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 15 Apr. 2016, www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/what-are-proxy-data.
Episode Credits
Producer
Kylie Compe
Story
David Boffa
Ian Glodich
Tori Charnetzki
Kylie Compe
Ryan Hendricks
Script
Kylie Compe
Director of Photography
Ian Glodich
Videography
David Boffa
Ian Glodich
Tori Charnetzki
Kylie Compe
Editors
David Boffa
Kylie Compe
Host
Ami Eckard-Lee
Graphics and Design
Charles Barrows
Animations
Ian Glodich
Illustrations
Cam Erhardt
Special Guests
Chris Wilson
Evan Larson
Evelyn Zadzilka
Translation Services
Rev
Captions
Catie Pfeifer
Educator Support Materials
Mia Forslund
Jen Kobylecky
Web Design
Charles Barrows
Erika Kachama-Nkoy
Web Development
John Vieth
Digital Content
Sigrid Peterson
Executive Producer
Ryan Hendricks
Director of Education
Megan Monday
Director of Television
Kathy Bissen
Special Thanks
UW-Madison School of Human Ecology
UW-Platteville TREES Lab
Project Advisors
Kevin Anderson
Science Education Consultant
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Leigh Kohlmann
Independent Science Education Consultant
Oakfield, WI
Dolly Ledin
Wisconsin’s Green Fire
Madison, WI
Michael Notaro
Center for Climatic Research
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Victoria Rydberg-Nania
Environmental Education and Service Learning Consultant
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Funding provided by
Dr. Annette Beyer-Mears in memory of Howard & Nelle Weiss, and Black Spruce Fund
Friends of PBS Wisconsin
Focus Fund for Education