This action funds a research garden and rainwater collection system at Washington University's environmental field station, the Tyson Research Center (TRC) in Eureka, MO. TRC's website is www.tyson.wustl.edu. The garden complements other recent improvements at TRC that are substantially increasing research productivity in landscape-scale manipulative ecological research, terrestrial plant ecology and aquatic ecology; teaching activity including research experiences for undergraduates; and public outreach integrated with ongoing research. In addition to this recent increase in research and outreach in the environmental sciences, TRC's commitment to sustainable facilities has led to a recent diversification of TRC's user base, which now includes architects, engineers, and artists, in addition to natural scientists. A recent facilities plan identified the research garden and rainwater collection system as high priority improvements needed to fully exploit the scientific and educational opportunities made possible by the other improvements.
In conjunction with current renovation and construction projects in progress, the research garden provides a centralized, interdisciplinary research space that brings together researchers from their various and widely-separated field sites, allowing for greater opportunities for collaboration while supporting several NSF-funded research projects. Additionally, the centralized location of the garden allows for greater teaching and outreach opportunities by bringing a part of the field research at TRC into view of student researchers, outreach visitors, and visiting members of the public. Finally, this accessible, easy-to-use experimental space benefits TRC's NSF-funded informal science education program by providing new opportunities for including experimentation in field courses.
