The Great Basin bristlecone pine is considered the longest-li ving organism on earth, with a confirmed living tree that is older tha n 5,000 years. How is this known? The science of dendrochronology anal yzes the growth rings of trees, identifying their age and even informi ng our understanding of climate patterns. Above 10,000 ft. elevation a nd east of the Sierra Nevada range, nutrient-poor alkaline soil is the only place where bristlecone pines can establish themselves with no other serious competitors. “Aging with Grace” will cover some of t he scientific discoveries the bristlecone pine has been part of, how i ts environment shapes it, and share images that demonstrate the facets of their life and growth that make them one of California’s most icon ic native species.
Tim Aston, a photograp her and former Gunn High School biology teacher, grew u p in Los Altos and currently lives in the Eastern Sierr a. He has been photographing bristlecone pines for fift een years, culminating in his new book, Branches in Time: A Photographic Study of the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine. When Tim was a kid, he borrowed Little Shop of Horrors from the Los Altos Library approximately 74 times.
DTSTAMP:20260420T032242 DTSTART;TZID=America/Tijuana:20260430T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Tijuana:20260430T203000 SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR