What Stories Do TREES Tell Us?

Welcome to the Trans-Canadian Research and Environmental Education (TREE) program! A citizen science program where students from across have Canada joined with researchers from the Mistik Askîwin Dendrochronology Lab (MAD Lab) to learn about the stories trembling aspen trees tell and how a synchrotron can be a tool to tell that story. 

Take a look at our database of research to learn about environments across Canada!

Students from Luseland, SK learning from Dr. Colin Laroque, director of the Mistik Askîwin Dendrochronology Lab, about tree cores and what MAD Lab does

Connect to Classroom Curricula

Student from Luseland, SK using a tree borer to collect a tree core sample
Students showcasing their work from their TREE project.

Extend with Student Inquiry


Access the schools' sample data on the TREE database! 

Students from Luseland, SK collecting tree cores from the trembling aspen in the notable "Crooked Bush" area by Luseland, SK
Mistik Askîwin Dendrochronology Laboratory Logo
Canadian Light Source logo

TREE connects to science research done in partnership between the Mistik Askîwin Dendrochronology (MAD) Laboratory and the Canadian Light Source (CLS), both on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. We acknowledge that the campus is located on Treaty Six land in the traditional territories of the Nêhiyawak (Cree), Anishinabek, Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations, and the homeland of the Métis. As educators, we respect Indigenous Ways of Knowing and oral traditions. We dedicate ourselves to moving forward in the spirit of partnership, reconciliation, and collaboration.