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| Dr. Ernie Wiggers cuts the ribbon |
Nemours Wildlife Foundation is located along the Combahee River at Highway 17, and the nearly 10,000-acre property helps to anchor wildlife research in the ACE Basin. It was 25 years ago when the late Eugene duPont III created the Nemours Wildlife Foundation to steward the wildlife species found in the Lowcountry. On Saturday October 23, the Foundation dedicated its new state-of-the-art science laboratory, naming it for Dr. Ernie Wiggers who is retiring after 22 years at Nemours.
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Nemours Wildlife Foundation
Celebrating 25 Years! |
Nemours Wildlife Foundation has been hosting and sponsoring graduate students who are pursuing degrees in outdoor science. The students come to Nemours in order to conduct research projects and to gain real world research experience in the field. Typically at the end of a research project those students will go on to publish articles in scientific publications regarding their findings. Eventually, these students go on to full-time
careers for all manner of employers, like the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and Clemson University.
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The ACE Basin and engaged learning
will be in focus at the Wiggers Science Lab |
With the completion of the brand new science building at Nemours, the future of wildlife research in the ACE Basin is bright. The $2 million dollar facility is 3,200-square feet, and is jam-packed with the equipment necessary to conduct complex research on site. Walking in through the front doors the laboratory includes office space, dissection tables, microscopes, digital monitors, sinks, and lots of cupboard space to store specialty items. Exiting the back of the science lab, one enters a secondary area that is set up for bringing in samples from the field.
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Guests enjoyed a luncheon and talk by Dr. Wiggers
and then enjoyed fellowship under the oaks |
Double doors allow for a 4-wheeler to drive into the field lab hallway, which has two large sinks and water hoses so that biological samples coming from the marsh can be washed clean of mud and debris. Samples can be treated with alcohol for preservation, and then they will be placed into a vapor hood to keep the fumes away from researchers. A walk-in freezer is also on site where longer-term storage of samples can be accomplished. On the outside of the building is a screened in porch with more tables and sinks for projects requiring larger capacity
To view the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Press and Standard.
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| McShane Family and friends in front of Lab |
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| Jess and Beau Bauer, Tina and Greg Yarrow |
