BEECH: Students discover the secrets of tree rings

On 23 September 2026, the Interreg project BEECH brought together around 60 students from Gymnasium Olbernhau and a school from Litvínov, Czech Republic, for a joint field excursion in the forests of the Ore Mountains near Oberseiffenbach. At four interactive stations, the students explored different aspects of beech forests, their ecology, and their importance for people and the environment.
Our research group hosted one of the stations dedicated to tree-ring research. Together with the students, we counted tree rings, extracted increment cores from a tree, and examined them. They learned what information is stored in tree rings and how this information can be used to draw conclusions about tree growth and the climatic factors influencing it.
The cross-border field excursion demonstrated how research and knowledge transfer can be brought together within the framework of BEECH.

© interreg