“Beep. Turn. Beep. Adjust. Turn. Beep. A dance of rhythm and sound, this process I describe is one that every tree-ring scientist knows well. Hours upon hours of monotonous movements, aligning, turning, and clicking, transform towering beings into lifeless width measurements. Annual growth rings become a sort of commodity, stripped of life and beauty. Instead of lauding a tree’s astounding ability to record climate signal and rock falls, in our desire to advance science we glorify narrow ring widths and significant correlations. We neglect to remember that the tree itself is the source of our understanding.”

Nudging the boundary between hard data and emotion, this piece invites viewers to consider the source behind the science. The inherent beauty and strength of trees in response to change is stunning. Consider as they beckon us, silently, to reflect upon our own resilience to the changing environments around us.