The North American Dendroecological Fieldweek (NADEF) has been providing advanced education in tree-ring research through project-based learning for 20 years. The current project will provide funding for the next five years to acquire state-of-the-art equipment and includes funds to offset participant fees to students to make attendance easier for undergraduate and graduate students. Tree-ring research (or dendrochronology) uses the annual growth of trees to record environmental variables such as climate, fires, or insect outbreaks. Anything that affects tree-growth could potentially be dated using tree rings. The fieldweek teaches the skills of crossdating (matching the pattern of wide and narrow rings to apply exact dates to every ring) and the statistical techniques necessary to interpret what is affecting tree growth by using hands-on teaching techniques that enable learners to understand the process more fully and to comprehend the practice of dendrochronology on a research project from start to finish.
NADEF is a nine-day workshop that has approximately 40 participants. The participants choose to become a member of the research team on one of five original research projects that are conducted during the fieldweek under the guidance of experienced dendrochronologists. Participants are divided into groups on fire history, climate reconstruction, stand-age structure, insect outbreak histories, dating archaeological dwellings, among other activities. With respect to broader impacts, the fieldweeks have given researchers as well as undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to interact and network with others. Furthermore, the research that is completed each year contributes to the local resource management knowledge base and can grow into long-term research agendas. Past fieldweek projects have also been the kernel for further work on a thesis or dissertation and have become published papers. As the fieldweek comes to an end, participants from each group present their findings back to the whole group and turn in a short research paper describing their methods and findings.
