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Many stories were told, a few tears were shed, and abundant insights, memories and predictions were shared at the 50th Anniversary Symposium of the MBL Ecosystems Center on May 29-31 in Clapp Auditorium.  

Led by the scientific triumvirate of Anne Giblin, current Ecosystems Center director, and former Center co-directors John Hobbie and Jerry Melillo, the symposium showcased the deep and wide contributions to ecological research and education that the Center has made over the past half-century.  

91�������לMy recollection is, the Ecosystems Center was founded to support basic ecological research, strengthen education at MBL, and find practical applications for management of natural resources,91�������ם said Melillo, who joined the Center in its inaugural year of 1975 after being recruited by Center co-founders George Woodwell and then-MBL Director Jim Ebert.  

91�������לLooking back, I think the Ecosystems Center has been true to its mission and these challenges. I applaud the Center for this, especially its efforts in education,91�������ם Melillo said, recognizing the center91�������יs Semester in Environmental Science, now the MBL91�������יs longest-running undergraduate program and a model for several other educational programs since. 

In her introductory talk, Giblin gave a broad 50-year overview of the center91�������יs experimental and observational research over many decades and different ecosystems, from the Arctic to Brazil to salt marshes in the MBL91�������יs own backyard.  

The long-term datasets Center scientists have collected and stewarded from these sites are invaluable to project the trajectory of global change.  

 91�������לJust in the time we91�������יve been in the Arctic, since the mid-1970s, we91�������יve seen major disturbances that were never there before, such as tundra fires and land failures from permafrost thawing,91�������ם Giblin said. 91�������לWe have to connect all these long-term studies at different sites to predict the future.91�������ם 

91�������לThe Ecosystems Center is about science, but it91�������יs also about outreach, education and policy,91�������ם Giblin said. And, since she joined the center in 1983, 91�������לIt91�������יs been a lot of fun. There is no place I91�������יd rather be.91�������ם 

Below are a few photos from the symposium91�������יs morning session on May 30. Check back for more stories about the Ecosystems Center91�������יs distinguished past, present, and envisioned future, which MBL Communications is proud to share over the next several months as its anniversary year progresses.