Understanding Climate Change through Proxy Data

In October 2023, 8th graders from the Hayes School (formerly Heath School) in Brookline went to Hillside Pond in Milton, MA, to collect data related to environmental changes. We used sediment cores and tree cores as sources of proxy data to interpret past environmental change. These are the same techniques that climate scientists use to gain an understanding of how our climate is changing. Using proxy data helps scientists build better climate models, make better predictions for the future, and, hopefully, lead to a society that is more sustainable.  

Below you can watch you can watch presentations in which students explain what they did during this project, what observations they made, what claims they came up with and why those claims make sense. 

This project is related to research that science teacher Mark Goldner participated in during his expeditions to Svalbard (in the Norwegian Arctic) with professor Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette (UMASS Amherst). This short film describes their research and efforts to teach about climate change to the public.

If you have questions, comments or are interested in doing similar work with your students, contact Mark Goldner at mark_goldner@psbma.org