Western Carolina University is awarded a grant for laboratory renovations at the Highlands Biological Station (HBS) located in the Blue Ridge of western North Carolina http://highlandsbiological.org/. Established as a center for research and training in the heart of the southern Appalachians, a temperate zone biodiversity hotspot, the William Chambers Coker Laboratory has been the primary locus of research and training at HBS for over 50 years. HBS serves all 17 institutions in the University of North Carolina system and annually attracts dozens of researchers from the US and abroad, hosts numerous visiting college and university classes, and for decades has offered an extensive program of summer courses in diverse areas of field biology.
Built in the 1950s, the West Wing of the Coker Laboratory is extensively used yet increasingly outmoded with modernization a top-priority renovation project to improve accessibility, and increase capacity and capability for research and training. Improvements will include (1) increasing the number of research laboratories in the west wing and equipping them with adequate work surfaces, lighting and electrical outlets, and (2) expanding and reconfiguring the main training lab to increase the amount of well-configured bench space and add additional equipment such as a fume hood, sinks, and storage for lab supplies. Common to both of these areas are electrical upgrades (the existing electrical system is not grounded and consists of 2-wire romex) and insulation/climate control (there is presently no insulation in this block building, and no humidity control). Improving safety and functionality through electrical and HVAC upgrades and reconfiguring research and teaching space of this wing for optimized use will yield a net increase in research laboratory space by 33%, and teaching/training space by 62%.
A prodigious quantity of scientific research and graduate and undergraduate courses have taken place in the Coker Laboratory over the years, largely centered around the unique and rich flora, fauna, and ecology of the region. As research base for numerous senior research groups and training ground for undergraduate and graduate students in many areas of terrestrial and aquatic ecology and organismal biology, these improvements will further enhance the high quality research and educational experiences for which HBS has been known for decades. Scientific productivity is closely linked to quality of research space, and HBS's ability to host researchers in expanded, modernized and ergonomically designed laboratories translates into quality publications and other research products. The Coker West Wing improvements also permit HBS to provide higher quality and quantities of immersion training in field biology, critical to preparing current and future generations of tertiary students from a variety of partnering institutions. Engagement with the local and regional communities will enable citizens to connect with and better understand the natural world through HBS-sponsored workshops, programs, and related activities for groups ranging from K-12 students to life-long learners to professionals conservation non-profits and federal and state agencies.
This project entailed a comprehensive renovation of teaching and research laboratory space in the W. C. Coker Laboratory at Highlands Biological Station (HBS), a building that NSF helped construct in the late 1950s. The grant supported modernization of the western wing of the building, dovetailing with State funding for the main wing and thereby maximizing cost-efficiency. By reconfiguring the floor plan of the western wing, research space has increased in area by a third and teaching/training space by nearly two-thirds, and the facility now meets the highest standards of safety, accessibility, and functional design while also reducing the building's ecological footprint through energy efficiency measures. Biological field stations like HBS are unique environments of learning and scientific investigation: sited in environmentally significant areas, they offer a base for both field and laboratory scientists and for immersion-style courses focused on the flora, fauna, and environments of their region. HBS is located in the heart of the Southern Blue Ridge, an area renowned as a crucible of biological diversity with rich mountain and aquatic ecological communities. As such the surrounding National Forest and National Park lands are a natural classroom and laboratory, ideal for the scientific research and immersion education based at HBS since the early 1930s. As the largest and most important teaching and research facility at HBS, the Coker Laboratory sees heavy usage in the field season, by design hosting researchers side by side with students, thereby fostering informal as well as formal education. Researchers from across the country and the world base their work here, and the renovated space now includes four new lab/offices each with expanded bench and shelf space, sinks, improved lighting, electrical (including numerous outlets), HVAC, and wireless internet. The HBS summer immersion courses range from accredited undergraduate and graduate-level classes to workshops for environmental professionals to mini-courses, programs, and lectures for the general public. During fall semesters this wing sees continuous use as the base for an undergraduate experiential program in environmental science. The expanded teaching lab includes generous perimeter bench space, large central lab bench seating up to 20 comfortably, sinks, fume hood, abundant cabinet and shelf space, and efficient lighting, electrical (with numerous outlets), HVAC, and wireless internet. The redesign also includes a dedicated microscope closet located off of the teaching lab, a balance room, and an equipment/stock room. The quality teaching and research facilities provided by this lab modernization project represent an essential national investment in training the next generation of field biologists and inspiring day visitors, from young people to life-long learners, to better understand their environment.
