UMass Boston Holds Open House at the Nantucket Field Station

By Jeanne Wallace-Buckley

Mainlanders may have been unprepared for Nantucket Island winds, but it was old hat for the hundreds of residents who came out to the UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station (NFS) Open House to visit for the first time in nearly forty years.

“This is a great resource,” exclaimed Janine LaForge, a Nantucket resident. “I’m excited to feel so welcome!”

The 107-acre field station, established in 1963, includes a field site with laboratory facilities, residence space, and offices. The NFS is breathtaking in its natural beauty with a 40-acre salt marsh, 2,000 feet of sandy beach fronting on Nantucket harbor, mowed fields, two one-acre fresh water ponds, and an upland shrub habitat whose autumn garb is a brilliant scarlet poison ivy, jokingly referred to by Islanders as “the Island flower.”

The Open House was the result of hard work by the Biology, Geography and Earth Sciences, and the Environmental, Coastal, and Oceanographic Science (ECOS) Departments, and featured displays on NFS educational and research initiatives on the Gray seals on Muskeget Island in Nantucket Sound, Comb and Moon jellyfish, and the ECOS mini-shuttle.

“It was wonderful to see our faculty interacting with interested and concerned citizens of the island,” praised Chancellor Jo Ann Gora. “The range and depth of the presentations and activities were a credit to the institution.”

In addition to the wealth of information, guests enjoyed lunch, activities for children, a GPS/GIS (Global Positioning Systems/Geographic Information Systems) demonstration, a self-guided nature trail, an intertidal zone walk, and a WUMB Radio listener appreciation concert with James Keelaghan.

Chancellor Gora, Provost Paul Fonteyn, and Dean of Science Faculty Christine Armett- Kibel provided an overview of the history, current activities, and future plans for NFS. Gora also restated the university’s commitment to the educational and research mission of NFS, and to the preservation of its sensitive ecology.

“The community is very supportive of UMass Boston and the Field Station,” said Gail Hobin, assistant vice chancellor of community relations.

“This was a great chance for us to meet and welcome them, as well as showcase what we do.”

Judging by the questions of the day, “When will the station be open to the public again?” and “Can you do this every year?,” the university’s efforts to enhance the Field Station and expand its academic program have been well launched.

The self-guided tour will soon be available on the web as a “Virtual Nature Tour” at: www.umb.edu/nantucket/tour/index.html.

From left to right: Richard Gelpke, assistant professor of the Earth and Geographical Sciences Department, and Chancellor Gora speak with Nantucket Islanders. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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