2026 Vaughan Lecture Ancient Niagara: Preserving Thousands of Years of Climate Records at ROM

Why It Matters

The acquisition gives scientists a rare, multi‑century climate record, strengthening Canada’s capacity to study and respond to long‑term environmental change.

Key Takeaways

• ROM acquires Niagara Escarpment ancient tree core collection.
• Tree cores provide millennia‑long climate and ecological records.
• Collection integrates with existing herbarium vouchers and Crawford Lake data.
• Designation of Escarpment as UNESCO geo‑park underscores global significance.
• Museum stewardship ensures long‑term accessibility for climate research.

Summary

The 2026 Vaughan Lecture highlighted the Royal Ontario Museum’s newest acquisition: a comprehensive collection of ancient tree cores from Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment. Curators Deborah Mezer, Saurin Brothers, and retired professor Douglas Larson presented the “Niagara Escarpment Ancient Tree Atlas” as a permanent addition to ROM’s natural‑history holdings, emphasizing its role in documenting millennia of climate variation.

The cores, some exceeding a thousand years in age, complement existing herbarium vouchers and the long‑running Crawford Lake sediment series. Together they form a multi‑proxy climate archive that captures shifts in temperature, precipitation, and forest composition across the Paleozoic‑derived escarpment. The collection’s integration follows the Escarpment’s recent UNESCO World Heritage Geopark designation, underscoring its global ecological and geological importance.

Mezer invoked the museum’s motto—“record of nature through countless ages”—while Larson recounted the discovery of a 1,162‑year‑old cedar stump now displayed as a “timekeeper.” Field notes by Peter Kelly, recorded while hanging upside‑down on the cliffs, were digitized into an illustrated atlas linking geographic coordinates, tree ages, and species data, illustrating the meticulous provenance of the material.

By housing this legacy in a stable, publicly accessible repository, ROM positions itself as Canada’s national steward of environmental heritage. Researchers will be able to reconstruct past climate regimes, inform models of future change, and support policy decisions on biodiversity and carbon management for decades to come.

Original Description

Celebrate the importance of local ecology with the new acquisition, by ROM, of materials associated with the Niagara Escarpment Ancient Tree Atlas Project Archive (NEATAP). Consisting of tree samples from the ancient cedar forests of the Niagara Escarpment cliffs, this archive will support future cutting-edge research on the climatic and ecological history of this region.

Facilitated by Deborah Metsger, the donation of this crucial record of Ontario’s past now forms a cornerstone of the work the Museum does to understand long-term environmental changes, ensuring ROM’s place in local, globally significant research for years to come. Recording thousands of years' worth of climatic variations, this archive’s new permanent home at ROM solidifies the Museum’s place as a national caretaker for Canada's environmental heritage.