Building Renovation for New Meeting Facility at Konza Prairie Biological Station

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This award provides partial support for a major interior renovation of the ground floor of a historic, 2- story limestone barn at the Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) of Kansas State University. The renovated building will provide a meeting facility and multi-use space for research, science education, and public outreach programs at this 3,500 hectare tallgrass prairie preserve dedicated to basic biological research, long-term ecological research on grassland ecosystems, science education, and conservation. Institutional funds will support improvements in heating and cooling systems, and modification of the flooring and other structural features. Funds provided by NSF will be used to construct a large meeting/lecture room with modern audio-visual and telecommunications capabilities, and a second, slightly larger, flexible-use meeting room, storage and kitchen spaces, and stairs to the second floor. Additional funds required for these and related improvements in heating, cooling and electrical supply will be provided by the institution and a private donor. KPBS has experienced significant expansion in research programs, national and international collaborations and scholarly exchange, and K-12 and post-secondary science education programs. Collectively the expansion in these three areas has substantially increased the need for on-site facilities for meetings, conferences, lectures, seminars, and formal and informal networking, communication, and interaction. The renovated space will integrate well with the architecture of the other historic limestone buildings of the station. KPBS has extensive areas of protected native grassland, riparian forest, and stream habitats that provide opportunities for study of a wide range of organisms and ecological processes. Currently, 131 registered research projects are conducted on the station's grounds, involving 35 Kansas State University researchers and 58 visiting scientists from other institutions. Existing station facilities include the Hulbert Center, which houses a library, small classroom, teaching laboratory, offices, herbarium and insect collections, and dormitory housing for 13 visitors. Other station buildings include a laboratory building with computer room and researchers' shop, a fire station and maintenance building, equipment storage building, two 2- bedroom guest cottages, and a small residence for on-site staff. Experimental facilities include 60 watershed treatment parcels maintained under different long-term prescribed fire and grazing treatment combinations, several enclosures and exclosures for grazing studies, an area dedicated to small-plot experiments and studies of below-ground organisms and processes, and several fields used for grassland restoration studies. This new facility at KPBS will be of significant value in supporting the continued development of the station research and education programs as they expand in interdisciplinary breadth and in their level of participation. This renovation will provide valuable support for long-term scientific study of grassland ecosystems and environmental change, and while also providing essential facilities for continued development of undergraduate training programs in environmental biology and high quality K-12 science education programs that serve a highly diverse regional student population.