September 5th 2024
Penfield: a field station with nearly 50 years of scientific history
From its beginnings in 1975 to its current location in Sargent’s Bay, the Helen and Wilder Penfield research station has supported decades of limnological research in the Eastern Townships.
The field station was founded in 1975 by McGill’s Limnology Group, which later became the Centre for Limnology Research. Driven by renowned researchers such as Bill Leggett, Frank Rigler, Jacob Kalff, Robert Peters, and Joseph Rasmussen, it quickly became a key site for studying lakes in the Eastern Townships.
In the early 1990s, new facilities were built on land donated by the Penfield family in Sargent’s Bay. Completed in 1994, this site—now known as the Wilder and Helen Penfield Nature Conservancy—has served as a base for numerous research projects and for the training of generations of students.
Since 2009, the station has been managed by the Gault Nature Reserve and continues to support innovative work in limnology and aquatic ecology.
