About the KU Field Station

The KU Field Station, the biological field station of the University of Kansas, was established in 1947. Its mission is to foster scholarly research, environmental education and science-based stewardship of natural resources. Since the late 1990s, the Field Station has been managed by the Kansas Biological Survey & Center Ecological Research.

All field station sites are situated within the grassland/forest transition zone (ecotone) of North America, where the eastern deciduous forest and tallgrass prairie biomes meet. Faculty, students and visiting researchers use the Field Station's diverse native and managed habitats, experimental systems, support facilities and long-term databases to undertake an a wide variety of scholarly activities.

The Field Station is available to any person or group whose research, teaching or conservation interests are compatible with our mission. Read more

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Research facilities and supportView as gallery page

The KU Field Station, open to scholars everywhere, covers a variety of native and historically altered habitats across three large sites, with a full range of indoor and outdoor lab areas, plus comfortable accommodations for researcher stays. Our 1,650-acre core research area, just 20 minutes from main campus, is open to the entire KU community for study in the sciences, arts, humanities and professional schools.

Man with computer equipment top of tower

NEON

One of three sites within the National Ecological Observatory Network's Prairie Peninsula Domain

Ecological setting

Native prairie and forest lands, and a variety of managed land and historically altered habitats

Our nature trail system

Our five-mile trail system, minutes from town yet a world away, is open to the public dawn to dusk every day. Interpretive signage at three trailheads and along the Rockefeller Prairie Trail helps tell the story.

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Our field reserves

The KU Field Station is made up of 11 distinct reserves in three different areas, all within an hour's drive of the City of Lawrence.

Explore each reserve