(PHIUS) notified Bowdoin of its certification of the Living and Learning Center (LLC) this month the largest of the new structures at the Schiller Coastal Studies Center and a 950-square-foot house at SCSC were designed to passive house standards The College is not pursuing official certification for these buildings as this requires submitting separate applications and fees. "We felt that our funds would be better spent on other parts of the program rather than seeking certification for every structure," Bowdoin Associate Director of Capital Projects John Simoneau said.  Along with the LLC, Bowdoin now has a total of five buildings certified by PHIUS, including its four Park Row Apartments Harpswell Apartments were also designed to PHIUS standards but are not certified, bringing the total passive space at Bowdoin to 112,322 square feet, according to Keisha Payson, associate director of Sustainable Bowdoin which directly followed the Park Row construction their insulation values and air tightness beat those of Park Row's.) Passive buildings are designed to minimize energy use while ensuring consistent comfortable temperatures and healthy air quality and are set up with ventilation systems and efficient heat pumps for heating and cooling Part of what makes these structures so efficient is their ventilation systems recycle the exhausted allowing researchers to maintain a diversity of marine life in up to thirty large tanks.  located about thirteen miles from Bowdoin's main campus now offers a wider range of possibilities for students and researchers studying the ocean and the environment The development was made possible by a $10 million gift from Bowdoin parents Philip Schiller a former Apple executive and current trustee From students making bioplastic with the shells of invasive green crabs to mapping microplastic levels throughout the Harpswell Sound the Schiller Coastal Studies Center was far from idle this summer Students took up jobs and research projects to further their understanding of the complex ecological systems in the Casco Bay region and humans’ vital role in maintaining this habitat Under the mentorship of Professor of Biology Katie DuBois Annika Bell ’25 and Lucy Dutton ’25 conducted a research project exploring levels of microplastic pollution in the Harpswell Sound and how filter feeders consume these microplastics “Lucy had five points along the Harpswell Sound and I chose three of those points to put oysters and mussels in and we’d take her water samples and my oysters and mussels out at the same time to compare how much plastic they both generated,” Bell said mussels and oysters purify the water they reside in Microplastics often get trapped in their digestive tracts as a result Oyster farming has become a popular restoration method because it helps promote cleaner ecosystems but this also means that the oysters we consume could be contaminated with ocean pollutants like microplastics from the water aquaculture becomes more and more important of an issue,” Bell said “That’s why tracking filter feeders across a sound is really interesting.” Aquaculture is defined as the controlled cultivation of certain water-based organisms Many of the projects at Schiller this summer were centered around its importance “It’s cool that they’re running more [research opportunities] at Schiller now They’re all expanding and changing,” Dutton said Bell is continuing her research this semester as an independent study while Dutton is heading abroad to Ecuador to work in an ecology and conservation program He noted the expansion of Schiller over the past few years has been a result of the College and the greater community utilizing the site’s resources more it was super underutilized by the campus,” Tourtelotte said “The big change was the Schiller expansion It gave us many more resources to be able to do a lot more out here.” Tori Bacall ’26 studied local adaptation between northern and southern populations of Ascophyllum Nodosom to better understand how climate change will impact the range of this ecologically important species this summer species like brown seaweed are expected to go extinct But after performing a thermal stress test which puts the seaweed under various temperature conditions that they are not adjusted to Bacall found that the seaweed could somewhat adapt to warmer temperatures “That basically tells us that this species is able to acclimate to warming temperatures pretty well,” Bacall said “This could have implications for the resilience of the species to global warming.” This was Bacall’s first time conducting research at Bowdoin and she wishes to continue her work as a future summer project independent study or even an honors project “It showed me that I really enjoy research and I’m hoping to do it next summer as well either at Bowdoin or another institution,” she said The opportunity for more students to take advantage of Schiller’s unique space this summer could set a precedent for research and stewardship in summers to come “I view the site almost like my home away from home and I feel really invested in it,” Tourtelotte said I feel like my favorite part of the job is having this thing that is my own to take care of It feels like I can make a big difference out here.” By Carey Goldberg • 3 days ago By Kaya Patel • 3 days ago By Orient Staff • 3 days ago By Emma Kilbride and Janet Briggs • 3 days ago By Mason Daugherty • 3 days ago By Kaya Patel • September 1 By Lilly Curtis • May 5 By Lilly Browder • May 5 By Rebecca Norden-Bright • May 5 Any comments that do not follow the policy will not be published and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" HARPSWELL (WGME) -- A first of its kind facility on the East Coast is now open in Harpswell Marine Mammals of Maine says its new "short-term" seal triage center will allow them to care for stranded seals The rescue group sent out pictures of their first harbor seal pup saved after it was found in Tenant's Harbor We're told after some tender loving care the seal pup will head to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut Thursday morning and will remain there until he's healthy enough to be released into the wild.