by Adam Hinterthuer
In late April, as Trout Lake was still losing its winter coat of ice, a group gathered for our annual station spring cleaning. This year there was a lot more to do.
For starters, an entirely new building now sits on what used to be the station’s main parking lot. Dubbed the Winter Instrumentation Limnology Labratory, the new National Science Foundation funded space is equal parts garage, makerspace, and storage.
“Before this, we had to do everything in that little garage bay,” says Jonathan Lytle, gesturing to the small garage that’s been in use for decades but presented a number of challenges for getting work done. “It had horrible lighting and space constraints and there was no way to lift the boats [to work on them].” What’s more, the space was not heated, which meant frozen fingers and delays working on equipment repairs and other projects over the winter.
Now, Lytle, says, “I’m excited. Even in the dead of winter, I can be in the shop here getting things done.”
The new building features two garage bays and an overhead crane that allows Lytle to work on boats and outboard motors without having to outsource the work. The large makerspace will host school groups, buoy-building workshops, and other events. What’s more, expansion in storage space means Trout Lake Station’s old storage building is getting a major makeover.
Dubbed the House of Lords by students of E.A. Birge and Chancey Juday who used it as living quarters during summers back in the early 1900s, the space has been used for storage, housing creative tools developed by limnologists over the decades. Thanks to the spring cleaning crew, the entire space was cleared out to make room for its new, no less important use. It will become a place where staff, students, and visitors can gather and unwind and get rested for their next long day in the field.
Station facilities technician Tom Swedberg had spent a full week pulling down deteriorated drywall and ceiling tiles and warped shelving in the House of Lords. It didn’t inspire confidence at first, he says, but as staff and students helped him empty the entire building during spring cleaning, it began to make more sense.
“I almost got discouraged and was wondering if we were wasting our time and if this could ever be usable space. But now I’m pleasantly surprised,” he says, looking around the now-cleared shelves and room. “I think it’s going to be really nice and work for our vision.”
The plan is to start small by restoring the interior wood walls and fixing the electric. There will be seating and room for games and puzzles and a donated foosball table. Then this historic place can take on its new role of, quite literally, building community.
