September 7, 2010 was the beginning of a long awaited and exciting time in Bigelow Laboratory’s history. More than two hundred friends and neighbors from the surrounding area gathered in a clearing of our East Boothbay woodland property to witness the official groundbreaking for the Laboratory’s new home. The years, months, weeks, and days leading up to this moment are a story of vision, determination, talent, and generosity on the part of a long list of people who believe that discoveries in ocean science are important to all our lives.
The new campus project is becoming more of a physical reality every day. Funding from a diversity of sources has made this possible, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, the Maine Technology Asset Fund, the First National Bank of Damariscotta, the support of Maine’s Congressional delegation, and the unflagging generosity of the Laboratory’s private donors.
This blog is intended to provide regular updates, in pictures, words, and--when possible--video about our progress in building the new Ocean Science and Education Campus. The first three wings under construction are the Bigelow Center for Blue Biotechnology, the Center for Ocean Biogeochemistry and Climate Change, and the Center for Ocean Health. What you will see in the posts that follow will be the future of world-class ocean science taking shape on a very special part of the Maine coast.
We are committed to ensuring optimal land use, stewardship, and sustainability as we move ahead with this project. Our goal is to be excellent stewards of the natural environment around us, and to become an effective part of this wonderful local community.
We welcome all your comments, questions, and ideas about our new campus.
Hawkes foresters are fast. Within days most of the area was knocked down
Once the trees were knocked down they dragged them out and processed them into usable materials
With enough trees dragged out, we were able to walk back to the building site. The next several photos show the transition of the site of the first building up to the Ground Breaking Ceremony
A storm came through over the weekend and make the entire building site a muddy mess. Through the tireless efforts of Crooker and Consigli, they came in at first light and transformed the area from mud to gravel. They set the groundwork for a successful Ground-breaking Ceremony.
A few days after the ceremony, the septic leach field was cleared of trees. This clearing brought with it an unexpected cross river view of South Bristol. This is the expected view for the ground floor of the Bigelow Center for Blue Biotechnology (BCBB) building. I am looking forward to see how it looks from the second floor.
The parking lot was cleared and will be used as a material processing area until the BCBB is completed.
Hawkes have cut a path down to Route 96. This will become the main entrance to the Bigelow Campus.
Crooker wasted no time "Stumping and Grubbing" the access road. Getting ready to blast the road and a trench line for the water main to be brought in late October.
Sigler was hired to perform the blasting. They are making good headway with their time on the site. They are drilling and blasting in multiple locations on the site at once. They report that the blasting is coming along smooth. The ledge has lots of quartz in it making it easy to break up.
