UWF Archaeology Institute receives international award for research

A multi-organizational research team led by the UWF Archaeology Institute's assistant director, Nicole Grinnan, has been awarded the 2026 Mark E. Mack Community Engagement award from the Society for Historical Archaeology. This prestigious international award recognizes the Archaeology Institute's research in Apalachicola, Florida, for exhibiting "outstanding best practices in community collaboration, engagement and outreach in their historical archaeology and heritage preservation work."

"This project is a perfect example of UWF's commitment to collaborative research with - and about - our communities," said Dr. David Earle, dean of the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. "Understanding our unique and shared heritage helps us better understand who we are and where we come from. This award is well deserved, and the University couldn't be prouder of the team and their efforts."

Grinnan's research, entitled "People of the Apalachicola System: Exploring Cultural Heritage as a Vector for Ecosystem Planning, Management and Adaptation," not only emphasized traditional archaeological research, but also actively integrated the local community at each phase of the research process. This included working with local government representatives of the City of Apalachicola, organizations in Apalachicola, and a variety of state and federal land management agencies in Franklin County. With community workshops, quarterly check-ins and monthly newsletters, the project was shaped to align with the community's values and needs.

With the intention of preserving Florida's unique coastal heritage, researchers mapped coastlines and forecasted potential coastal transformation within Florida's Apalachicola Bay, aiming to deepen the understanding of how past and present communities value and utilize their landscape against the backdrop of environmental change.

"Our research team's hope from the beginning was that this work would serve as a starting point - not an endpoint," Grinnan said. "Recognition from the Society for Historical Archaeology reinforces the idea that, when communities are partners in research, heritage preservation becomes more meaningful and better positioned to flourish. We look forward to returning to Apalachicola to continue working alongside our partners to document and share its incredible stories."

This research was funded by the NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System's Science Collaborative and was in collaboration with the Florida Public Archaeology Network, the UWF Department of Anthropology, the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Northwest Florida Maritime Landscape Alliance for Preservation, East Tennessee State University and the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

For more information about UWF's Archaeology Institute, visit uwf.edu/archaeology.