It can be hard to see a tree’s leaves overhead or roots below ground. But to understand a tree’s health, we have to get there. Scientists at the Center for Tree Science at the Morton Arboretum and the Illinois Institute of Technology are now developing drone-based tools to collect samples, make observations and deploy sensors in the upper parts of a tree canopy. Can technology help us understand how much sap is flowing through a tree’s stem or how much water that tree is using? Chuck Cannon, director of the Center for Tree Science at the Morton Arboretum, joins us to provide some answers. 

This week, we’re broadcasting from the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, sharing the beauty and science of the world around us with our listeners.