PRESCOTT COLLEGE RECEIVES $98K
NSF GRANT FOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT
Prescott - The National Science Foundation has awarded Prescott College
a grant totaling $98,556. The grant will purchase scientific equipment for
research at the College's Kino Bay Center for Cultural and Ecological Studies
in Mexico.
Prescott College has been offering field courses for students and conducting
research on marine and desert ecology and conservation in the area around
Kino Bay, Mexico, for more than 30 years. The Center currently has two major
focus areas, including island inventory, conservation and management; and
Fin Whale photo identification. Seventy-five to 100 Prescott College students
utilize the Center every year.
The grant award will purchase a GPS Base Station, hand held GPS units, networked
computers and a server that support GIS and GPS mapping of island data layers
and whale locations. Photographic equipment, a computer scanner, boat motors
and oceanographic sampling equipment also will be acquired.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the U.S.
Government, with a mission to promote the progress of science; to advance
the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national
defense.
"The new equipment will allow us to safely continue many of the activities
we currently conduct and give our students the opportunity to participate
in oceanographic sampling projects," said Ed Boyer, an Environmental
Studies faculty member and co-director of the Kino Center. "It will
support the research we do in the local area, including the Alcatraz Island
project, and help us provide safe boating and environmental education opportunities
for groups of local school children."
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