Enhancing Infrastructure at the Point Reyes Field Station

This project will strengthen the collaborative potential of the Point Reyes Field Station (UC Berkeley), a research and education hub operated in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) in one of the most ecologically diverse regions of the United States. Located within the protected lands of Point Reyes National Seashore, the station supports ecological research, teaching, and community engagement involving universities and colleges, the National Park Service, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, and local nonprofit organizations. Funding will support renovations and accessibility improvements to key facilities, including modernization of the communal kitchen and dining area, construction of an outdoor bath and shower facility, and conversion of a redwood barn into a multi-purpose classroom/meeting space and dry laboratory. These upgrades will expand the station’s capacity to host researchers, students, and partners for simultaneous projects. By enhancing infrastructure for scientific collaboration and training, the project will advance research and support workforce development. It will also strengthen partnerships and provide educational opportunities for members of the public. The project will modernize and expand research infrastructure to support interdisciplinary research. Existing facilities limit the ability to host large or concurrent research groups, and the limitations constrain multi-seasonal and long-term projects. Proposed renovations will provide ADA-accessible spaces and outdoor restroom facilities for visitors staying overnight. Critically, the collaborative outdoor lab space will provide visitors with access to a dedicated facility for data collection, specimen processing, classroom instruction, meetings, and collaborative research. Collectively, these improved infrastructural upgrades will enable extended site visits and enhance the station’s role as a regional center for research and education. This project aligns with the NSF’s biotechnology priority area. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2556052 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Neetha Iyer | Institution: University of California-Berkeley, BERKELEY, CA | Award Amount: $605,000 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2556052 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2556052.html