FSML Planning Grant: Developing a Strategic Plan and Infrastructure Needs Assessment for Washington State University's Meyer's Point Environmental Field Station

迈耶斯点环境监测站，包括95英亩未开发的土地和2100英尺的普吉特湾海岸线，于1990年被遗赠给华盛顿州立大学（WSU）。这份遗赠书指出，梅耶的观点应该用于促进环境教育、研究和艺术。迈耶斯角目前拥有丰富的自然资源，包括广泛的陆地、湿地和水生栖息地。在过去的26年里，为了与这一遗产保持一致，华盛顿州立大学及其许多合作伙伴利用迈耶角进行了一系列环境研究、教育和推广活动，包括对海岸线原生植物、海洋无脊椎动物、蝴蝶、盐沼和鸟类、水质和生态系统恢复的研究。但是，这些先前的研究、教育和推广工作通常是“独立”的项目，没有得到很好的协调。有机会将华盛顿州立大学（和其他机构）的研究工作集中在一些备受瞩目和高影响力的领域。华盛顿州立大学是该州的赠地研究型大学，在与城市/农村界面相关的三个新主题领域的专业知识越来越多，可以指导迈耶斯点的建设：1)水科学；2)农业与生态系统的界面；3)艺术、人文和科学中的“人与地”。更广泛地说，华盛顿州立大学将在迈耶斯点采取一致的、有意的和互动的过程，以：1)教育和培训本科生和研究生(例如举办“新的REU站点：景观生态学和生态系统动力学”；整合陆地和水生视角”项目),2)与K-12教师和学生合作（例如，奥林匹亚高中地球队“多年来在迈耶角的几英亩土地上清除入侵植物并重新种植本地晚继承树种），3)接触并告知公众(例如，迈耶角目前是一个以社区为基础的非营利性牡蛎农场合作的所在地，该农场教育并提供实践经验。管理和分配从现场收获的新鲜的本地牡蛎)。总体目标是将Meyer's Point建设成为普吉特海湾地区领先的环境研究、教育和推广中心，进而扩展到华盛顿州和全国，重点关注城市/农村界面的环境问题。这一规划赠款的三个主要目标是：i)通过一系列实地考察，了解利益攸关方、潜在伙伴机构和区域实地站的需求、能力和愿望；ii)通过专业研讨会，与利益相关者和合作机构合作，确定Meyer's Point未来5年的发展目标和成果；iii)制定一份详细的5年战略计划，指导华盛顿州立大学及其合作伙伴在迈耶角的设施改善和筹款方面的工作。

The Meyer's Point Environmental Field Station, including 95 acres of undeveloped land and 2,100 feet of Puget Sound shoreline, was bequeathed to Washington State University (WSU) in 1990. This bequest stated that Meyer's Point should be used to promote environmental education, research, and the arts. Meyer's Point currently boasts substantial natural resources including extensive terrestrial, wetland and aquatic habitats. For the past 26 years, in keeping with this bequest, WSU and its many partners have utilized Meyer's Point for a range of environmental research, education, and outreach activities, including studies of shoreline native plants, marine invertebrates, butterflies, salt marshes and birds, water quality and ecosystem restoration. But these prior research, education and outreach efforts have generally been 'stand-alone' projects and not well coordinated. There is an opportunity to focus WSU's (and other institutions') research efforts in some high-profile and high-impact areas. WSU, the state's land-grant research university, has growing expertise in three new thematic areas relevant to the urban/rural interface that could guide the build-out of Meyer's Point: 1) Water Science; 2) The Interface between Agriculture and Ecosystems; and 3) "People and Place" in the Arts, Humanities, and Sciences. More broadly, WSU will adopt a consistent, intentional and interactive process at Meyer's Point for: 1) educating and training undergraduate and graduate students (e.g. hosting the "New REU Site: Landscape Ecology and Ecosystem Dynamics: Integrating Terrestrial and Aquatic Perspectives" project), 2) engaging with K-12 teachers and students (e.g., the Olympia High School Earth Corps" has for many years cleared invasive plants and re-planted native late-succession tree species over several acres of land at Meyer's Point), and 3) reaching out to engage and inform the public (e.g., Meyer's Point is currently home to a community-based, non-profit oyster farm collaborative, that educates and provides hands-on experience developing, managing and distributing fresh, native oysters harvested from the site). The overall goal is to build Meyer's Point into a leading environmental research, education and outreach center for the Puget Sound Area, and by extension, the state of Washington and the nation, that is focused on environmental issues at the urban/rural interface. The three primary objectives for this planning grant are to: i) Learn about the needs, capabilities and aspirations of stakeholders, potential partnering institutions, and regional field stations, via a series of site visits; ii) Work with stakeholder and partner institutions to identify goals and outcomes for the next 5-years of growth at Meyer's Point, via a professionally facilitated workshop; and iii) Produce a detailed 5-year strategic plan that can guide WSU and its partners in facilities enhancement and fundraising for Meyer's Point.