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 Dr. Brian Beal, professor of marine ecology
at the University of Maine at Machias, has recently won a National
Science Foundation (NSF) grant of $600,000 for the Downeast Institute
for Applied Marine Research on Great Wass Island. The funding
will assist in the construction of a state-of-the-art center at the
Institute and in curriculum development for a Downeast coastal studies
concentration for UMM students. What will these projects mean for
the coastal communities in Downeast Maine?
On Saturday, February 13, Dr. Beal will share a vision for this new
facility and its future as he describes “The Downeast Institute:
Creating New Educational and Economic Opportunities in Eastern Maine”
as part of the “Second Saturday” lectures at Moore Auditorium on the
campus of Schoodic Education and Research Center in the Schoodic
District of Acadia National Park, Winter Harbor. The lecture will
begin at 7pm, is open to the public and admission is free. The mission of the Downeast Institute is “to improve the quality of
life for the people of downeast and coastal Maine through applied
marine research, technology transfer, and public marine resource
education.” The Institute was created in 1987 as the Beals
Island Regional Shellfish Hatchery, when Dr. Beal as coordinator of
environmental resources for the University of Maine at Machias,
collaborated with six local communities to address the issue of
depleted clam flats. The Institute’s first NSF grant came in
2002, and was also a three-year $600,000 commitment. The work
being done at the Institute has grown to include a range of shellfish
such as scallops, sea urchins, and lobster, and is being carried out by
UMM faculty, local fishermen and UMM students.
Brain Beal is a Maine native who did his undergraduate studies at
the University of Maine at Machias. He earned his graduate
degrees in marine sciences at the University of North Carolina (Chapel
Hill), and his doctorate in marine bio-resources at the University of
Maine. He was a Switzer Foundation Environmental Fellow in
1992-93 and a Fulbright Scholar at the National University of Ireland
(Galway) in 2000-01. He has published extensively in professional
and research journals, and serves as treasurer of both the Cobscook Bay
Resource Center and the Maine Aquaculture Innovation
Center.
Dr. Beal will present his talk on Saturday, February 13th at 7:00
p.m. at the Schoodic Education and Research Center inside the Schoodic
District of Acadia National Park in Winter Harbor. The Schoodic
2nd Saturday lecture series is a partnership of Acadia National Park,
Acadia Partners for Science and Learning and the Schoodic Committee of
Friends of Acadia. The series features topics of community interest and
normally takes place on the second Saturday of each month at SERC.
There is no admission charge and the presentations are always open to
the public.
For more information, contact Bill Zoellick at 207-288-1328. For
driving directions to SERC and to the Moore Auditorium, see the maps on
the "Driving Directions" page on the Acadia
Partners website.
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