Stacy Maynard fondly remembers her days as a child sailing on Lake Erie, watching research vessels traveling from the Aquatic Visitor Center to Gibraltar Island and wondering what they were doing.
“There’s this nostalgia of what that emerald green island meant to me when I was a little girl, and it has lingered with me ever since,” Maynard recalls.
Maynard’s career in education and her continued enjoyment of boating on Lake Erie eventually led her onto the research vessels she used to watch from afar. In recent years, she eagerly took the opportunity to visit the mysterious green island of her childhood dreams by joining volunteer efforts on Gibraltar Island with the Friends of Stone Lab (FOSL).
“The island’s experiential learning could tap into a small dream a student may have when they go to college. When these students are on the island, they have the opportunity to really see firsthand how scientific research is being conducted by students and that it’s actually real.”
Stacy Maynard
“When I saw the volunteer opportunity to help clean up the island, I knew it was a bucket list item and that I was going to jump on that,” Maynard said. “And so, I did. When I was on the research vessel that very first time, I pictured what it would be like for other children to see that vessel going over to Gibraltar Island and having the same dream that I had at their age.”
“It was really a special opportunity, and the experience was so much more than just being on the island,” she continued.
Stone Lab’s Spring Work Weekend was sponsored by the Friends of Stone Lab (FOSL) board, of which Maynard is now a member. Created in 1982, FOSL brings people together to invest in Stone Lab’s future. The group helps to create philanthropic funds, endowments, and scholarships; purchase equipment; sponsor fundraising and volunteering events; and organize experiences to support student learning at Stone Lab.
Stone Lab, The Ohio State University’s island campus on Gibraltar Island since 1925, began when prominent businessman Julius F. Stone donated the island to university. Maynard said Stone’s vision of connecting the everyday person to the Lake Erie ecosystem is being kept alive 100 years later through Stone Lab and FOSL’s efforts.
Maynard said she is most proud of the opportunities FOSL helps make possible for students. Each year, FOSL allocates scholarship funds to share Stone Lab’s vision with students who may otherwise never realize the importance of the Great Lakes. FOSL helps make field trips to Gibraltar Island and Stone Lab possible for thousands of students each year, offering a unique, hands-on experience.
“The island’s experiential learning could tap into a small dream a student may have when they go to college. When these students are on the island, they have the opportunity to really see firsthand how scientific research is being conducted by students and that it’s actually real,” Maynard said. “When you think about the last 100 years, it makes you certain that for the next 100 years, Stone Lab’s vision isn’t going to waver. Those same opportunities are going to be made available for our students, from those least likely to think they would have that chance to those who are already planning to go to The Ohio State University and become a student. It’s so wonderful.”
FOSL’s annual events include the Winter Program, Spring Work Weekend, and the Stone Lab Open House. From bringing volunteers like Maynard together for a weekend spent preparing the Stone Lab facilities for students, to letting the public learn about Stone Lab and the Great Lakes ecosystem, each event helps to further FOSL’s mission.
“For all the different variables that are pulling on our time, this is absolutely one of the most effective, direct, positive results of committing your time to something,” Maynard said. “If you have some interest in our freshwater systems and our proximity to the Great Lakes, there’s a piece for all of us, and a little bit of time, even if it’s just the spring or the fall work events, really makes a significant impact on Stone Laboratory’s vision.”
Ohio Sea Grant is supported by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, and NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 34 Sea Grant programs nation-wide dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie and is the research, education, and outreach facility of Ohio Sea Grant and part of CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources.