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

迈耶角环境野外站，包括95英亩未开发的土地和2,100英尺的普吉特海湾海岸线，于1990年遗赠给华盛顿州立大学（WSU）。 这份遗赠声明指出，迈耶角应该被用来促进环境教育、研究和艺术。 迈耶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，WSU及其许多合作伙伴利用Meyer's Point进行了一系列环境研究，教育和宣传活动，包括海岸线本土植物，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。 但这些先前的研究、教育和推广工作一般都是“独立”项目，没有得到很好的协调。 有一个机会，集中在一些高知名度和高影响力的领域WSU的（和其他机构的）研究工作。 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的主题领域拥有越来越多的专业知识，这些领域可以指导迈耶点的建设：1）水科学; 2）农业与生态系统之间的界面; 3）艺术，人文和科学中的“人与地方”。 更广泛地说，WSU将在Meyer's Point采用一致的，有意的和互动的过程：1）教育和培训本科生和研究生（例如主办“新REU网站：景观生态学和生态系统动态：整合陆地和水生观点”项目），2）与K-12教师和学生（例如，奥林匹亚高中地球军团”多年来清除了入侵植物，并在迈耶角的几英亩土地上重新种植了本地后期演替树种），以及3）接触并告知公众（例如，Meyer's Point目前是一个以社区为基础的非营利牡蛎养殖场合作组织的所在地，该组织教育并提供开发、管理和分销从该网站收获的新鲜本地牡蛎的实践经验。 总体目标是将Meyer's Point建成普吉湾地区领先的环境研究，教育和推广中心，并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。 这项规划赠款的三个主要目标是：一）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;二）通过专业协助的讲习班，与利益攸关方和伙伴机构合作，确定迈耶角未来5年增长的目标和成果;和iii）制定详细的5年战略计划，指导WSU及其合作伙伴为Meyer's Point进行设施改进和筹款。

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.