Irvine Natural Reserve System
The UC Irvine Natural Reserve System includes an intensively managed wetland next to campus; a Mojave Desert mesa; and California’s largest state park. All three reserves are popular among faculty for class field trips, and attract more than 3,000 users per year.
Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve
Featuring hills of weather-worn boulders in a desert landscape dotted with Joshua trees and juniper, the reserve has been the site of several new species discoveries but is also used frequently for university class outings.
San Joaquin Marsh Reserve
Adjacent to UC Irvine, the marsh has been a teaching site for generations of students studying wetland biology. Its natural lands and waters also offer refuge for species ranging from white-faced ibis to western pond turtles.
Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center
Students and scientists can reside at the newly-renovated center as they conduct research outings to the more than 600,000 acres of neighboring Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.