Developing a Strategic Plan for Macalester College's Field Station, the Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area

麦卡莱斯特学院获得了一笔赠款，用于为学院制定一个新的战略计划--位于凯瑟琳奥德韦自然历史研究区的S生物野外考察站。KONHSA成立于40多年前，包括至少10个主要植物群落，几个季节性和永久性的池塘和泉水，毗邻密西西比河的一个回水湖。S位于一个快速扩张的主要大都市区内，为研究人类活动对生态和地质过程的影响提供了独特的机会，并使其成为更大的教育、研究和保护网络的宝贵组成部分。该项目将包括一系列会议、讲习班、会议和现场访问，重点是外地办事处的教育规划、研究机会、设施需求和业务可持续性。为期18个月的全面规划过程将吸引生物学、地质学、环境科学和地理方面的研究人员参与，以刺激Macalester和其他当地大学的学生和教职员工的课程开发和扩大研究机会。该项目还将调查参与合作生态研究网络的可能性，例如五大湖和中部各州生态观测站(GLACEO)、国家生态观测站网络(NEON)的成员和/或其他合作网络。规划过程还将使地区学校、明尼苏达州自然资源部、明尼苏达州污染控制机构、国家公园管理局、明尼苏达州科学博物馆和市政府加强S站与校外机构、教育工作者和政策专业人员的关系。

Macalester College is awarded a grant to develop a new strategic plan for the college?s biological field station at the Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area (KONHSA). Established over 40 years ago, KONHSA contains at least ten major plant communities, several seasonal and permanent ponds and springs, and abuts a backwater lake adjacent to the Mississippi River. KONHSA?s location within a rapidly expanding major metropolitan area provides unique opportunities to study the impacts of human activities on ecological and geological processes and makes it a valuable component of larger educational, research and conservation networks. This project will consist of a series of conferences, workshops, meetings, and site visits focused on educational programming, research opportunities, facilities needs, and operational sustainability for the field station. A comprehensive, 18-month planning process will engage researchers in biology, geology, environmental science, and geography to stimulate curriculum development and expansion of research opportunities for students and faculty at Macalester and other local colleges. The project will also investigate possible participation in collaborative ecological research networks such as the Great Lakes and Central States Ecological Observatory (GLACEO), a member of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), and/or other collaborative networks. The planning process will also engage area schools, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the National Park Service, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and municipal governments to strengthen the station?s relationship with off-campus agencies, educators, and policy professionals.