The University of Virginia Main Campus is awarded a grant to make three enhancements of a dock facility that will strengthen the research and educational mission of the Anheuser-Busch Coastal Research Center (ABCRC). The project will add fuel and electrical power to the ABCRC dock; improve access for research and education by adding a ramp and floating platform to facilitate all-tide access to boats; and design and install a flow-through seawater system with holding tanks for short-term maintenance of specimens and experiments that require running seawater and in situ conditions.
The Anheuser-Busch Coastal Research Center (ABCRC) is located at the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR), one of the few remaining undeveloped areas on the Atlantic seaboard and Gulf coast available for study of the coastal barrier ecosystems. The ABCRC hosts undergraduates, graduates and research faculty from 7 institutions. The ABCRC also has an active outreach program with the local community, and having easy, and safe, access to the VCR at any tidal stage will facilitate field-based activities with the local community, including the K-12 schools.
