Rotarians get preview of NMC demo center

Members of the Saipan Rotary Club were given a first glimpse of the planned Northern Marianas College Marine/Environmental Science and Mariculture Demonstration Center during the civic group’s first meeting of the year at the Hyatt Regency Saipan Tuesday.

NMC’s Barry Wonnenberg and John Furey discussed the benefits and advantages of the marine demo center when they explained the proximity of the facility to the proposed transfer site of the college at the La Fiesta Mall.

Wonnenberg and Furey said this would give students, faculty, and researchers who need to conduct studies instant access to marine animals and their habitat.

The demo center would also house an energy-efficient structure for solar energy that would hold power generator systems, according to the two.

Wonnenberg and Furey also showed brief video footage of their recent trip to Palau’s marine demo center, which outdoor coral and viewing aquarium is attached to the main building. The facility also had other aquariums that visitors could walk through.

They said they hope such a setup would be incorporated into the future demo center of NMC.

Aside from the aquariums, Wonnenberg and Furey also said that NMC plans to construct rows of tanks for the propagation of marine animals such as giant clams that the Palau marine center also houses.

The presenters said giant clams were supposed to be imported to Saipan last year but were postponed due to lack of containers and aquariums designed for such usage.

Wonnenberg and Furey also said the first floor of the soon-to-be-renovated old building on the Pau Pau site will be utilized as a research wet laboratory.

Called touch tanks, they would allow students to interact with marine animals found on Saipan’s coral reef.

They said the system could facilitate actual research and learning to students, whose interests are towards marine biology. Complementary to the wet laboratory, Wonnenberg and Furey, would be a research dry laboratory that could be found on the second floor, which is designed for professors conducting real-time marine research.

Wonnenberg and Furey said that the marine demo center would also include storage for a research vessel. They said the vessel would allow students to be taken to an off shore facility and get them closer to the actual marine environment, further aiding them in their understanding of the sea.

Currently, NMC has rounded their budget for the demo center to around $300,000, which started with a $75,000 allotment for the construction of Phase 1 operations.

Funds of $110,000 for the vessel or research boat will be provided by next year, according to the two.

The center will also rely on a self-funding mechanisms like the collection of visitors’ fee to sustain its basic operations, according to Wonnenberg and Furey.

Wonnenberg and Furey said they remain hopeful the Marianas Public Lands Authority would award the lease of the property to NMC when they resume their meetings on Jan. 25. The Division of Environmental Quality is also set to release its permit to NMC on February.

Wonnemberg has been a fine arts instructor at NMC for 14 years now, while Furey teaches full time and also coordinates NMC’s Developing Sea Grant Program. (Marconi Calindas)