Located in the foothills of the Southern San Joaquin Valley, adjacent to the beautiful Circle J-Norris Ranch in Springville (a 2.5 hour drive south of Merced), the UC Merced Science & Conservation (SCICON) Field Station serves as a base for research and educational activities in the southern Sierra Nevada and San Joaquin Valley. The field station is a partnership between the Tulare County Office of Education and UC Merced. Field station facilities consist of two buildings; 1) a newly renovated laboratory and classroom space with an upstairs apartment that accommodates up to four researchers, and 2) a standalone ADA-accessible bathroom and shower facility. The nearby SCICON K-12 campus also offers additional lodging, conference, and workshop facilities on weekends and in the summer, when not in session. The field station is perfect for providing research and educational space for lodging, workshops, and conferences, that are adjacent to nearby conservation lands that serve as living laboratories in the heart of foothill oak woodland, grassland, and vernal pool habitats, some of which have active cattle grazing programs. The field station is also a short drive to Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, representing high elevation ecosystems.
