A grant has been awarded to the University of Oklahoma Norman Campus under the direction of Dr. T.H.L. Williams, to fund a series of three planning workshops to develop management, operations and administrative plans for Kessler's Farm, a parcel of land that was recently donated to the University of Oklahoma. The first workshop will be facilitated by an outside consultant, Dr. Susan A. Lohr, who developed the planning protocol for the Organization of Biological Field Stations. With her aid, we will determine which questions are the most important for us to address in order to develop a common vision for the site that we can continue to share in the near and long term future. The second workshop will be held at the Farm, giving any participants a chance to view the property and then, follow up on break out groups organized during the first workshop. The final workshop will be held at the University of Oklahoma Biological Station at Lake Texoma in southern Oklahoma. Chief among the goals of this workshop will be to determine how to integrate the activities at Kessler's Farm with those ongoing at the Biological Station. It is our desire to make these facilities compliment one another rather than compete. In addition, we hope to make viable strategic plans concerning the role of an advisory board, how to identify and best interact with outside constituencies, and develop infrastructural planning.
This land is the site of a number unique meteorological and climatological monitoring stations as well as being the location for an important series of experiments on the effects of global warming on tallgrass prairie. Kessler's Farm has served as the focal point for the research of African-American, Native American, physically disabled, Hispanic, and female students and faculty. Part of the planning effort will be focused on how to increase the visibility and usage of the Farm by underrepresented groups and to increase their participation in field-oriented sciences.
