Calaveras Big Trees State Park to host free seminar on giant sequoias
An expert on giant sequoia ecology will lead a free seminar, “Our Past Through Trees — An Introduction to Dendochronology” on April 27 at Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
Most people are aware that a tree’s age can be determined by counting its rings, but research has taken the science further. Now scientists use dendochronology as a way to date weather patterns, trace the history and severity of forest fires and much more.
An expert on giant sequoia ecology will lead a free seminar, “Our Past Through Trees — An Introduction to Dendochronology” on April 27 at Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
Participants are encouraged to pack a lunch and enjoy the day in the 6,000-acre park among the world’s largest trees. The seminar is part of a series of free programs sponsored by the Calaveras Big Trees Association, the nonprofit that provides educational and interpretive programs for park visitors.
Nancy E. Muleady Mecham, a biology professor and Fullbright Scholar, will provide an introduction to the trees of the Sierra Nevada, how they grow in nature and what they can tell us about the past. She spent 27 years as a national park ranger, has extensive teaching and travel experience and recently completed a fellowship on tree ring research in Tucson, Ariz.
The free seminar will run from 10 a.m. to noon in Jack Knight Hall near the park’s visitor center. The park requires a day-use entry fee per carload.
Calaveras Big Trees State Park, on Highway 4 just east of Arnold, is home to two giant sequoia groves. The grove easiest to access has 150 of the trees spread out along a creek on an easy 1.5-mile hiking trail.
The rare trees grow naturally only on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada and were discovered in Calaveras County in the 1850s. The park has been a tourist attraction ever since, and draws about 200,000 visitors per year from all over the state, country and the world.
The sponsoring California Big Trees Association provides funds for a wide range of programs in the park, including Cubs and Junior Ranger programs, guided walks, snowshoe excursions, internships and seasonal interpretive employees. The group also raised $500,000 over the past two decades to help pay for a new visitors center, is due to open later this year.
For a full schedule of seminars and other activities in the park, see www.bigtrees.org. To learn more, call the park office, (209) 795-3840.
This story was originally published April 17, 2013 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Calaveras Big Trees State Park to host free seminar on giant sequoias."