Climate change is one of those issues that tends to turn people off. It’s not much fun to think about the consequences of the carbon pollution and the subsequent warming of the atmosphere. But Seattle Times Writer Lynda V. Mapes spent the better part of two years studying how it affected one tree while she was on a science fellowship in upstate New York.

Her book about that experience is called "Witness Tree: Seasons Of Change With A Century-Old Oak."

On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon, I met with Mapes to discuss the book beneath the boughs of a similar oak in Seattle’s Volunteer Park, one that people climb recreationally and locals affectionately call “The Queen.”

Mapes was beaming as we talked, clearly she had a great time during her year spent at the Harvard Forest, interviewing all kinds of scientists who helped guide her time spent on the ground and even swinging in a hammock above admiring the canopy, to explore every aspect possible of climate change seen through the lens of one tree.

Listen here.