On March 8th, 2018, UC Berkeley will roll out it’s largest coordinated one-day donation drive, the Big Give. The Berkeley Field Stations and Natural Reserves will be participating in this fund raising effort. Donations made during this drive will go to support our research and education initiatives, upgrade facilities, purchase equipment and support staff.
To show your support protected lands for research and education, visit our donation page!
Congratulations to Jeff Brown, Station Manager of Sagehen Creek Field Station for receiving a Sierra Visionary Award for 2018. The Sierra Business Council recognizes and honors leadership in restoring and invigorating the local communities, economy and environment.
“Since 2004, Jeff Brown has been the driving force behind the Sagehen Forest Project , which brought traditional antagonists into agreement on how to save our forests from wildfire, disease, insects and drought, while creating sustainable forest jobs.”
Jeff Brown, and Assistant Manager, Faerthen Felix, are recognized as community leaders in the Truckee and Sierra regions; incorporating scientific inquiry, sustainable management, interdisciplinary approaches and educational efforts as part of their broader management plans.
The application deadline for the Summer 2018 UC Natural Reserve System Field Studies Program: California Ecology and Conservation is drawing near! Applications can be found here and are due on February 5, 2018 so please spread the word!
California Ecology and Conservation brings together 27 students from across the UC system for seven weeks of intensive learning at NRS reserves. Guided by experienced field instructors, undergraduates transform into scientists by conducting independent research studies. Students learn to notice natural patterns, frame questions into feasible research projects, and practice standard techniques such as surveys of animal and plant populations. At the conclusion of each project, students analyze their data and present their findings to the class in oral presentations, posters, and reports. Students hone their research, public speaking, and scientific writing skills with constant practice and feedback. All the while, students gain a working familiarity with California’s diverse ecosystems while immersed in the NRS’s classrooms without walls.
Students requesting scholarship consideration apply to both the program and the scholarship application links at the application site.
This relatively new program, launched in Fall 2015, has been a tremendous success. Students from across the UC system have gained strong independent scientific research skills while immersed in the training grounds of the UC natural reserves, from Big Sur to the Mojave Desert, from coastal redwoods to California grasslands to high altitude bristlecone pines.
Carol Baird on horseback
The 2017 awardees for the Carol Baird Fund for Graduate Field Research have been selected. Students will begin work in their respective reserves in 2018. We look forward to following their research progress and outreach efforts. Please congratulate the following students on their outstanding research proposals.
There next round of applications will open in September, 2018.
Photo by K. B. Suttle
We are excited to announce that the UC Natural Reserve System is now accepting applications for the Spring 2018 offering of the UC Natural Reserve System field course, California Ecology and Conservation. Applications can be found here and are due on October 23, 2017.
This relatively new program, launched in Fall 2015, has been a tremendous success. Students from across the UC system have gained strong independent scientific research skills while immersed in the training grounds of the UC natural reserves, from Big Sur to the Mojave Desert, from coastal redwoods to California grasslands to high altitude bristlecone pines. Check out this video and this article to get glimpses of what students are calling the most rewarding experience in their undergraduate careers.
“I’ve never felt so confident in not only forming questions about the world around me, but also in my ability to turn those into testable hypotheses,” said a recent UC Davis student. “On top of that, I’ve learned so much about myself and gained confidence in my path. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many ‘best-day-of-my-life’ experiences in such a short period of time. I’m so much more confident that field ecology is the path for me! Between the connections and skills I’ve gained of the last 50 days, I couldn’t be more prepared.”
California Ecology and Conservation brings together 27 undergraduates from across the UC system for seven weeks of intensive learning at NRS reserves. Experienced field instructors help undergraduates transform into scientists. Students complete a series of increasingly independent research studies while learning to notice natural patterns, frame questions into feasible research projects, and practice standard field techniques. At the conclusion of each project, students analyze their data and present their findings in oral presentations and written reports. Students hone their research, public speaking, and scientific writing skills with constant practice and feedback. All the while, students gain a working familiarity with California’s diverse ecosystems.
All UC undergraduates who have a 2.5+ GPA, are in good standing with their home campus, and have successfully completed an introductory biology course are eligible to apply.
More information is available on the course website.
The UC Berkeley Natural History Field Stations are delighted to announce “The Carol Baird Graduate Student Award for Field Research.” Awards will be granted to UC Berkeley graduate students to support high quality research that is carried out primarily in the field, based in or around these Berkeley’s Natural History Field Stations:
Angelo Coast Range Reserve
Blue Oak Ranch Reserve
Hastings Natural History Reservation
Point Reyes Field Station
Sagehen Creek Field Station
The first competition will support field research by UC Berkeley graduate students beginning in 2018. Proposals of up to 5 pages (total), describing the project, its importance, and proposed methods and logistics, must be submitted by September 30, 2017 to fieldstations@berkeley.edu with “Carol Baird Graduate Student Award for Field Research” in the subject line. Awards of up to $22,000 will be made on the basis of merit. Funding may be requested for a single field season or multiple field seasons, and for work at or around a single or several reserves. Support allocations (amount per student, potential for renewal) are flexible, as long as the research is field-based, is of excellent quality, and is substantially improved by this support.
Awardees will be selected by a faculty review committee comprised of the Directors of the UC Berkeley Natural History Field Stations, and will be announced on October 15, 2017.
Graduate student applicants planning to do field work during the fall and spring academic semesters may use the award to cover tuition and fee expenses ($17,654.50 per year in 2017 and rising). Graduate students are not subject to these costs during the summer. Don’t forget to budget for housing, etc. at the field stations where you base your research!
Post Award obligations:
1) Awardees will be required to present their findings to the local community around the field station(s), for example at town meetings or at workshops organized by local conservation, educational, or citizen science groups.
2) Each awardee must submit a report summarizing their research accomplishments to fieldstations@berkeley.edu by 15 November of the year in which the award was received.
3) By April 15 of the following year, a fuller report (with full analyses, photos, videos, links, etc.) should be sent to the same email address, fieldstations@berkeley.edu. Both reports will be evaluated by the faculty review committee, and forwarded to the funding Foundation.
Relevant dates for the 2018 competition:
September 30, 2017:
Applications for the 2018 awards must be received at fieldstations@berkeley.edu.
October 15, 2017:
Awards for 2018 will be announced.
November 15, 2018:
Reports from awardees due, submitted to fieldstations@berkeley.edu with “Carol Baird Graduate Student Award for Field Research” in the subject line. Reports should describe research accomplishments based on the award, including scientific findings, publications, and reports, videos, and links to public workshops, lectures, or presentations.
April 15, 2019:
More complete reports, with manuscript drafts if available, data analyses, photos, videos, and other links should be sent to fieldstations@berkeley.edu with “Carol Baird Graduate Student Award for Field Research” in the subject line.
Edited September 7, 2017 to specify this award is for UC Berkeley graduate students only.
You must be logged in to post a comment.