Plunged deep into Henderson Inlet bordering one of the South Puget Sound’s many crooked fingers you’ll find what was once the largest ever gift to Washington State University, residing on the original homelands of the Nisqually and Squaxin people.
For researchers, the Meyer’s Point Environmental Field Station northeast of Olympia offers a little bit of everything. Amid its 95 acres you’ll find 2,100 feet of Puget Sound shoreline and extensive terrestrial, wetland, and aquatic habitats. The Station’s research and service foci are just as diverse as its landscape with themes of water science, agriculture and urbanizing ecosystems, and finally people and place in the arts and sciences.
Four seed grants were recently awarded to researchers across the WSU system to utilize the site. Two projects look to evaluate the horizonal and vertical fluxes of material in the ecotone – an area between two ecosystems. The horizontal study will observe changes to material and energy between the land and sea, while the vertical study will measure matter changes between aquatic systems to atmospheric including greenhouse gas emissions from the water.
Other projects will bring WSU Tri-Cities studio art students to inspire environmental art installations, while another from WSU Extension will see a plot of camas – a significant crop for the Nisqually and Squaxin tribes – reintroduced into the region at the station’s hayfield.
The site hasn’t just caught the attention of researchers. Local schools have found utility in Meyer’s Point for its swath of educational activities, from dissecting shellfish with the Nisqually Tribe to hiking the property to spot identifying native and invasive plant species with station staff. Last Spring alone some 900 school children visited Meyer’s Point thanks to partner groups including South Sound GREEN.
Local forest and farm owners have also visited the property to learn about forest management practices that add non-timber value to their forests including tapping Bigleaf Maple trees for syrup and growing Shiitake mushrooms on logs, two practices being developed by WSU Extension staff at the field station. Development of these products might help producers profit off trees previously seen as less valuable for timber, helping with conservation efforts.
Last year, the Capitol Land Trust purchased Meyer’s Points’ easement to solidify the area’s future as a conserved space where the university can continue to host research and education opportunities. Whether it be educational programs for students, research to understand the South Puget Sound’s abounding ecological features, practical implications for land and forest management, or jump starting the next commodity group, WSU’s tripartite mission of education, research, and service is in full swing at the fledgling environmental station at Meyer’s Point.