Fully Funded (and then some)!!

We did it! With the support of friends, family, and beneficent science supporters, this fundraising campaign is fully funded! With the site access letters going out, the Institutional Review Board letter in hand, and the funds to purchase needed equipment secured, this project is much more a reality than it was even 30 days ago.

In case you're interested in what the next steps look like:

1. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that a separate grant I've applied for comes through which would provide $1,500 for:

-This gorgeous handheld spherical densiometer - used for evaluating canopy density from within a forest stand. Totally old school and yet entirely effective! As an interesting side note it can be used for determining canopy density when doing wetland delineations.

 

-This ISE meter and probe used to measure the sulfide concentration of wetland soils.

 

-This portable pH/Conductivity/TDS/ORP/Salinity meter kit available from Forestry Suppliers for $480 will be used to measure soil oxidation/reduction potential, salinity, and Dissolved Oxygen.

 

2. The next step will be to locate a high heat oven (for processing soil samples).

3. Then, I'll set up a part of the lab to be able to handle the volume of soil and water samples that I'll be bringing back from the field, and I'll establish a space in the herbarium for processing plant specimens.

4. I'll gather detailed data on each site before a field visit (including the site history such as historic mangrove extent, the extent of impacts to the mangrove fringe that were permitted on the site, whether on-site mitigation/replanting projects were completed, and so on).

5. I'll create maps of the site using ArcGIS and will establish the location of the mean high water line which I'll use as a reference while establishing sampling plots.

6. Finally I'll establish a local reference site near each group of sampling sites which I'll use to establish baseline environmental conditions in long unimpacted mangrove stands.

These activities are about to being with a flurry, but I'll continue to carve out time along the way to post regular lab notes and photos.

I guess in closing, I have to say that I'm frankly inspired to see how many people jump in on platforms like Experiment.com to fund meaningful research. I've seen projects with fundraising goals in the $10,000 + range funded on this site and I've seen donors that have funded dozens of projects. I'm happy to have been a successful part of the wave of crowdfunding for science and hope that it continues to launch awesome and worthwhile projects.

Thanks again everyone (and note that you can still contribute to this campaign as there are two days left and much left to purchase!).