Prepare for your event:
- As the visit organizer, you are responsible for communicating all necessary station information to your group, including facility information, safety information, and visitor conduct expectations. You are also responsible to ensure payment of station fees associated with your visit.
- Read about station policies and safety information, as well as local conditions such as weather, road closures, and driving conditions before your event.
- Know the station 10-day cancellation policy and inform the station director of any changes in your reservations in a timely manner.
- Obtain signed liability waivers for all guests (one per guest per year). Minors must have signatures from their parents.
- SCICON Field Station Liability Waivers: (SCICON Adult Individual Waiver) (SCICON Waiver - Spanish) (SCICON Group Waiver). Please be sure to submit waivers ahead of your visit.
- Multi-Reserve Waiver (if you are visiting multiple field stations)
- Photo consents: Photo Consent Form
- Print and bring with you any necessary permits, signed liability waivers, signed photo consent forms, maps, and check-out forms.
- Communicate with the station director at least one week in advance of your visit to receive information on how to access facilities, as well as any other information necessary for your visit. If desired, arrange for a station orientation with the SCICON director for the beginning of your stay.
During your event:
- Know and abide by station policies, including UC Merced and SCICON policies during your stay. Follow the UC Natural Reserve System Code of Conduct. Be a courteous member of the community during your visit. Failure to follow station policies may result in a loss of station privileges.
- Keep the facilities clean. Share facilities with other guests. Prevent rodents, bears, and other animals from accessing food and trash.
- When away from the field station, each guest should take their personal "Go Bag", containing irreplaceable items such as documents, cell phones, and medications. Fire, road closure, or other hazards may prevent returning to the field station apartment. Follow all emergency instructions regarding hazard alerts or evacuation instructions.
- Upon departure from the station, clean the apartment and/or the lab/classroom thoroughly, according to our check-out checklist. Leave the station in better condition than you found it; the stations do not have housekeeping services. Facilities left in poor condition may result in cleaning or repair charges. Leave completed checkout form on the kitchen table prior to departure.
Reservation Policy
Length of stay requirements
Cancellation Policy
There is a 10-day cancellation policy for the field stations. Reservations canceled 10 or more calendar days in advance will not be charged. However, if you cancel less than 10 days before your stay, you will be expected to pay for the first 2 nights reserved. Similarly, if your group size decreases with less than 10 days' notice, you will be charged for the initial number of people for the first 2 nights. For example, if you decrease your group from 10 people to 7 people fewer than 10 days in advance, you will be charged for 10 people for the first two nights, then 7 people for the remaining nights. If no notice is given of a decrease in group size until after the event, groups will be charged the full rate. Group leaders are responsible for informing the station director of cancellations within their groups, and communicating this policy to their participants.In the case of extreme weather or other hazards (such as fire or road closures), the station may be closed at any time at the discretion of the station director, UC Merced, and/or SCICON administrator. In this case, users will not be charged for canceled reservations.