The Humboldt Field Research Institute
The Humboldt Field Research Institute is located on the eastern coast of Maine and
is perhaps best known for the extensive series of advanced and
professional-level natural history science
seminars it has offered in Maine since 1987, along with ecological
restoration seminars and expeditions to the neotropics. It publishes the
Northeastern Naturalist
and
Southeastern Naturalist, two scholarly, peer-reviewed, natural
history science journals which provide an integrated publishing and
research resource for eastern North America, including eastern Canada.
With this in mind, the Institute works closely in tandem with the
Eagle Hill Foundation, which has interests in interdisciplinary
aspects of the study of nature and natural history. The Institute and
Foundation share facilities and are working together on developing an
interdisciplinary retreat style study and meeting facility on the summit
of Eagle Hill.
The Setting
The Humboldt Field Research Institute and the Eagle Hill Foundation
share the densely forested summit of Eagle Hill, the highest part of
Dyer Point, one of a number of peninsulas along the Downeast Maine
coast. To the immediate west is the Schoodic Point section of Acadia
National Park. To the immediate east is Petit Manan National Wildlife
Refuge. Trails lead from the summit of Eagle Hill to a number of
overlooks offering spectacular views of the coast of Maine, with its
rocky and evergreen-lined shore and its many islands, bays, and
peninsulas.
The Mission of the Institute
The Institute actively promotes collaboration in natural history education, research, and publishing. Its mission is international in scope, working together with scientists from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Latin America.
The Institute maintains an interdisciplinary focus, recognizing that an understanding of the interaction and interdependence of functional systems in nature requires the attention not only of specialists, but also of naturalists and generalists who can bridge different disciplines.
Through public lecture programs, the Institute makes a special commitment to engage members of the general public, emphasizing that our natural world is a universal heritage and that an interest in natural history is something that can and must be shared by everyone.