Planning Grant for Program and Facility Enhancement at Lacawac Sanctuary

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Franklin and Marshall College is granted an award for a planning study is to conduct two workshops to expand the existing research, educational, and public outreach programs and facilities at Lacawac Sanctuary over the next 5 to 10 years. Lacawac Sanctuary is a 206 hectare nature preserve located within 100 miles of 140 institutions of higher learning. This proximity to so many Colleges and Universities, many of them urban, makes Lacawac Sanctuary an ideal place to conduct research and teach courses with the goal of understanding the natural world. The sanctuary offers: 1) a pristine, natural lake (Lake Lacawac) in which researchers and students can make measurements, collect samples, and perform experiments; 2) a base of operations offering lodging and laboratory facilities for sampling both Lake Lacawac and other sites throughout the Poconos; 3) protected areas for forest and watershed studies, including two white-tailed deer exclosures set-up on the property for long-term studies of browser impacts; 4) a sanctuary staff including an Executive Director, Administrative Assistant, volunteer support staff, and summer interns; and 5) long-term databases of physical, chemical and biological lake data, and weather and solar data. The planning process proposed here will bring together stakeholders with a broad range of interests, including aquatic and terrestrial research, K-12 and college/university-level education, and public outreach, as well as key Lacawac administrators for two workshops to achieve the following specific goals: 1) cultivate Lacawac as regional center for ecological research by improving the acquisition and management of environmental datasets, support services for researchers, and laboratory facilities, 2) enhance the educational program by providing resources for university-level field trips during the academic year and developing courses for students and K-12 teachers during the summer, and 3) engage researchers in the development of outreach programs for the public on pressing ecological issues.