A coastal research field centre will be officially opened in Tauranga next month by the University of Waikato.

The centre will be based at the harbour's edge in Sulphur Point and will provide a base of university staff and students to conduct field research in and around Tauranga.

Coastal Science Professor Chris Battershill says this is the first time a lab has been put together in Tauranga.

'To date a lot of the field work we've done has had to be taken to Hamilton to be processed.

'It'll be great for the students to have a dedicated lab to process their field work in. 'Due to the nature of coastal work, now they have a base where they can do useful stuff when their research is hampered by bad weather.

'We are always increasing our ability to do fieldwork.”
He says they will have access to all kinds of different and significant marine reserves, and to top this off there is an active volcano sitting off the coast.

The field centre will also be home to Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi tertiary partnership students.

The base will be formally opened with a dawn blessing planned for 5.45am on December 7, and an official opening at 4pm.