Planning Grant for Hurricane Island Field Research Station

This award will support the successful planning and development of the Hurricane Island Field Research Station, by cultivating and collecting information, ideas, and advice from research and higher education leaders with extensive field station experience. Hurricane Island is a growing science and education organization, and the Hurricane Island Field Research Station will be uniquely positioned to conduct research and provide educational opportunities with meaningful impacts on communities near and far.

As the only offshore research station in the ecologically significant Penobscot Bay, the station will offer: unique access to water and land environments for research and educational purposes; a base of operations offering room and board, laboratory, and classroom facilities; a core group of year-round staff and seasonal research staff; a 3.2-acre aquaculture farm for research and education purposes; a model for sustainable station campuses and systems; and unique broader impact collaborations resulting from the educational programs taking place on Hurricane. With a fundamental commitment to providing access and education for underrepresented groups and creating an inclusive community, the station expands access for broad audiences to participate in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

Identifying new areas for community-driven research, deepening partnerships for long-term monitoring efforts, and developing a data-sharing plan, will greatly expand Hurricane's impact to support public education and research regarding important ecological issues in Maine's coastal communities and beyond.

The objective of the proposed planning study is to work with stakeholders to develop a long-range strategic plan for the newly constructed Hurricane Island Field Research Station on Hurricane Island in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Funds will be used to bring together stakeholders consisting of an external advisory committee, research faculty, K-16 educators and students, local community members, and key Hurricane Island staff members for two workshops.

The goals are to: identify community-driven research questions; develop a 5-year marketing and recruitment plan to meet targets for use of the facility; and develop a plan for data acquisition, management, and sharing. The workshops will be geared toward Hurricane Island's strategic priorities, including greater engagement between scientists and a variety of groups historically underrepresented in the STEM fields.

The Field Research Station will continue to expand Hurricane's undergraduate and graduate programming as a host site for field projects and courses and increase research and educational capacity for existing partnerships. The capacity building associated with the Field Research Station will amplify current work in addressing community-driven questions through applied research and enhance collaborations by connecting scientists and students.

For more information about the Hurricane Island Field Research Station, visit www.hurricaneisland.net/science-research.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.