2026 OBFS Annual Meeting Workshops
Workshops are available on Monday and Friday during the conference. Register for all workshops during the conference registration process.
Unless otherwise noted, all workshops are free.
Monday, Sept. 14
Full-Day Workshops
Strategies for Ethically Organizing Research and Associated Outputs by Place
Date and time
Monday, Sept. 14, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Presenters:
- Erin Robinson, Metadata Game Changers
- Neil Davies, UC Berkeley Gump Research Station
- Jason Tallant, UM Biological Station
- Marty Downs, Long Term Ecological Research Network
- Matt Jones, DataONE, UC Santa Barbara
- Angie Garcia, DataONE, UC Santa Barbara
- Ian Breckheimer, Rocky Mountain Biological Lab
- Greg Maurer, Ecology & Environmental Data Science, New Mexico State University (Jordanna LTER / EDI)
Cost
$32, includes snacks and lunch for this full-day workshop
Description:
Field stations support a diverse range of research across all branches of science. This research is generally organized by discipline. The field station community has long understood the opportunity to also organize this research by place (NAS, 2015). Place-based organization locally enables holistic and transdisciplinary science and demonstrates the individual value stations provide, and globally, a common approach reveals the enormous collective contributions field stations make to understanding the planet. Networks like LTER and NEON have demonstrated the power of networking place-based research at the project-scale. With advances in research infrastructure and researcher adoption, we can now realize this opportunity broadly at the station-scale. In this hands-on workshop, we will introduce a set of strategies and tools that work with existing researcher practices rather than adding to them and that don't require dedicated data staff to implement, including: (1) Embedding persistent identifiers for people (ORCiDs), organizations (RORs), and research objects (DOIs) in station-generated artifacts like applications for access using platforms that publish station-supported projects as citable, connected metadata records like iPlaces. (2) Supporting researchers in conducting legal and ethical research, by operationalizing the FAIR and CARE Principles using tools like Local Contexts notices and labels and associating research with permits. (3) Automating the association between station-supported projects and downstream tools like field information management systems (i.e., GEOME, ArcGIS, SeaSketch), repositories researchers already use (i.e, EDI, BCO-DMO, Dryad, KNB), and aggregators like DataONE and GBIF. We will highlight a set of existing successful station strategies and approaches at field stations. Field station examples may draw from RMBL, Toolik, Gump, Hopkins Station, OTS, University of Michigan Biological Station, Dangermond Preserve, Toolik Field Station, or Tyson. Learning from those examples, we will then lead a hands-on portion for participants to immediately apply these strategies. Station-supported field courses are an untapped resource and a natural pilot: stations already know both the research activities that happened and the outputs they produced. Participants are encouraged to bring a set of field course papers as an example to which they apply the strategies. Participants will leave with an audit of their information resources, an initial set of research organized by place, and a plan for moving forward at their station. We know that this will not be solved in a single workshop, but we do expect that this will clarify the path forward for common digital approaches.
Half-Day Workshops
2026 Annual Meeting
From Idea to Impact: Designing a ¿field curious? Program at Your Field Station
Presenters
- Jessica Malisch, UC Merced
- Breezy Jackson, UC Merced Yosemite Field Station
Date and time
Monday, Sept. 14, 8:30 a.m. – Noon
Description
Field stations are uniquely positioned to provide transformative field experiences, yet many students never access these opportunities due to logistical, financial, or cultural barriers. This half-day workshop introduces the ¿field curious? model, a scalable approach to lowering barriers and connecting students with hands-on field science through short, cohort-based field experiences. Participants will learn how to design, fund, and implement a ¿field curious?–style program at their own field station or institution.
Topics include program structure, recruitment strategies, partnerships with faculty and community colleges, transportation and risk management logistics, budgeting, and approaches to sustaining the program through grants and institutional support. The workshop will include practical planning exercises and templates so participants leave with a draft implementation plan tailored to their own field station.
Social Field Safety in Practice: Working Through Real Scenarios
Presenters
- Field Inclusive, Inc.
Date and time
Monday, September 14, 1-3 p.m.
Description
How do we respond when social field safety challenges arise in the field? Through case studies, small-group discussion, and facilitated problem-solving, participants will work through realistic scenarios involving field teams, power dynamics, communication, and inclusion. Led by facilitators from Field Inclusive, this workshop provides practical tools for creating safer, more supportive field experiences and strengthening field team culture for all.
Get your FSML grant reviewed before you submit it
Presenters
- Skip Van Bloem, Clemson Baruch Institute
- Robin Verble, Missouri State Univ.
- Eric Quallen, Juniata College
- Michael Flinn, Murray State Univ.
Date and time
Mon. Sept. 14, 1-4:30 p.m.
Description
Field Station and Marine Lab grants are available from NSF to develop infrastructure for field stations. In this workshop, you submit your completed proposal to a panel of OBFS members who have reviewed or received NSF FSML grants before and we will provide a friendly review and then work with you on how to improve the proposals. Typically, you would submit your proposal, wait six months for reviews to come back, and then resubmit if not funded. We hope to shorten that timeline by providing pre-review that you can respond to and then you can submit a revised proposal in October. This is NOT an official NSF review panel, but we will run it like one. Our goals for the workshop are to help our members submit more mature proposals to increase their chance of funding and to help increase the number of FSML proposals received by NSF so they can continue to justify the program.
Help us help you get to YES on your proposal. If you don't have a proposal and you want to attend the workshop to see the process, please come! If you do have a proposal, contact Skip Van Bloem ASAP skipvb@clemson.edu and have it ready by Sept. 1 so we can send to mock reviewers and then work with you on it at the meeting.
Friday, Sept. 17 Workshops
Half-Day Workshops
From Gadgets to Infrastructure: Practical Technology Planning for Field Stations and Marine Labs
Presenters
- Shah Selbe, FieldKit
- Gary Bucciarelli, UC Davis Natural Reserves
- Shane M Waddell, UC Davis Natural Reserves
- Sophia Hoffman, Virginia Coast Reserve LTER
Date and time
Friday, Sept. 18, 8:30-Noon
Cost
$15/person (covers printed workbook + consumables like sticky notes/markers; remote attendees receive digital workbook)
Description
A hands-on, half-day workshop helping FSMLs move from “cool tools” to sustainable, station-ready technology infrastructure.
Participants will:
- Map priority use-cases across major tech categories (sensors, camera traps, acoustics, telemetry, remote sensing, citizen/community science, AI-enabled analysis)
- Work through the cross-cutting realities of data management, staffing, maintenance, and interoperability, and
- Leave with a tangible Technology Roadmap (pilot plan, roles, budget ranges, risks) plus a data/ops checklist they can bring back to their institution.
- Participate in a short “collaboration marketplace” to form small inter-station pods for shared protocols or pilot projects after the meeting.
- Identify 1–2 high-priority station use cases for their field station/marine lab (e.g., baseline weather/water, wildlife monitoring, etc)
- Work through the cross-cutting realities that often determine success or failure:
- Planning and deployment (designing a deployment, identifying needs, supplies)
- Data management (QC, metadata, storage, access)
- Technical capacity (training, troubleshooting, staffing)
- Maintenance and lifecycle planning (replacement cycles, budgets, sustainability)
- Interoperability/standardization across stations
Story as Strategy: Using Narrative to Advance Science and Support
Presenter
- Jeni Blacklock, RMBL
Date and time
Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, 8:30 a.m.-Noon
Description
Scientific research at field stations generates powerful discoveries, but the impact of that work is often not communicated in ways that fully engage broader audiences.
This workshop explores how storytelling can serve as a strategic tool to advance the mission, visibility, and support of field stations. Participants will learn how narrative can translate complex scientific work into compelling stories that resonate with donors, partners, communities, and policymakers. The session will highlight how stories of place, discovery, and people can strengthen communication, deepen relationships, and support fundraising goals. Through examples from field stations and research institutions, we will examine how narrative can connect science to real world impact. Participants will also explore the role of storytelling in building long term support for science and education.
During the workshop, attendees will begin developing their own story that reflects the unique place, research, and community impact of their field station. Each participant will leave with a draft narrative they can take back to their institution to strengthen communication, inspire engagement, and help advance the future of their field station.
Research with CaRE at Field Stations: Building Reciprocal, Place-Based Research Partnerships with Tribes and First Nations
Presenters
- Lauren Bell, Sitka Sound Science Center
- Jix’ Dul Saan Lillian Feldpausch, Sitka Tribe of Alaska
Date and time
Friday, September 18, 8:30-Noon
Description
This interactive workshop explores the “Research with CaRE” (Communication and Reciprocal Exchange) initiative, an educational framework developed through a partnership involving the Sitka Sound Science Center and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska to support more respectful and effective research on Indigenous lands and waters.
CaRE emphasizes core principles including cultural awareness, transparency and consent, reciprocity and benefit sharing, and meaningful community engagement. It encourages researchers to invest in relationships before research begins, understand the people and place they are working within, communicate accessibly, and remain accountable to Tribal partners throughout the research process. Co-facilitated by partners from the Sitka Sound Science Center and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, this session will dive into the CaRE framework for field station contexts. The workshop will combine a brief overview of CaRE principles and their development with applied, case-based learning grounded in Southeast Alaska.
Workshop participants will work through scenarios and engage in small-group discussions to identify resource needs and practical strategies for conducting research that is collaborative, place-based, and responsive to Tribal sovereignty and priorities. While this workshop is tailored to the needs of field station staff and researchers, this initiative is grounded in—and accountable to—the goal of serving and protecting the interests of Tribes and First Nations. The session will also create space for peer exchange across stations, highlighting existing efforts and surfacing shared challenges and opportunities. Participants will leave with concrete ideas and draft approaches for strengthening relationships and research practices at their home institutions.