Robert J. Bernard Field Station
The BFS provides facilities and ecological communities for high-quality teaching and research in biological, environmental, and other sciences to the students, faculty, and staff of the Claremont Colleges.
Pitzer's Leadership in Environmental Education Partnership (LEEP) program brings many elementary schoolchildren to the station each year.
The US Geological Survey maintains a monitoring station on the grounds and both long and short-term research projects are carried out by faculty from the Claremont Colleges and from other institutions.
Although the main purpose of the Station is as a teaching and research facility for the Claremont Colleges’ students, its contributions to the greater community have been substantial.
The Leadership in Environmental Education Partnership (LEEP) through Pitzer College brought over 150 fifth and sixth graders to learn about Southern California ecology.
The BFS contains native plant communities mixed with an array of drought-tolerant Old World species that have become naturalized in southern California.
The average annual rainfall in Claremont is about 15 inches and the BFS is located on an alluvial fan which means the soil is fast-draining.
Coastal sage scrub consists mostly of small to medium shrubs which are adapted to winter rains and long, dry summers, and annuals which complete their life cycle in the spring.
Oaks were planted along the road to the now-disused Infirmary, which was built in the 1930s to house ill students from Pomona College.
Some of the common plants are California Sagebrush, buckwheat, yerba santa, white sage, golden currant, and redberry, along with poison oak.
The BFS houses a number of Species of Special Concern such as the Coastal Cactus Wren, Nevin's Barberry, and the Silvery Legless Lizard.
Several of these exotic species include Tree Tobacco, the Mexican Fan Palm, the Bird of Paradise Shrub.
While the BFS has strict regulations regarding who can visit/enter the station, the presence of invasive species is inevitable and certainly has economic implications as a public good.
In the published journal article by Thomson et al. titled "Why are native annual abundances low in invaded grasslands?
Staubus et al. investigates how native arthropods are affected by invasive species in "Carbon and nitrogen storage in California sage scrub and non-native grassland habitats."
These species invade both Southern California's threatened Sage Scrub, as well as include non-native Argentine Ants.
In 1980, the facility was officially opened and named in honor of Robert J. Bernard who had been involved in the development of the colleges since the beginning of the Group Plan.
In Robert Bernard's book about the history of the Claremont Colleges, “An Unfinished Dream”, he states:“A tour of the property readily convinces visitors of the importance of keeping such a beautiful expanse of land, shrubs, and trees for scientific purposes.” However, the future of the Station is uncertain.
In 2001, the Claremont Consortium agreed not to build on the central portion for 50 years, following intense student protests against plans to locate the Keck Graduate Institute on them.
[5][6][7] Since then, Harvey Mudd College has purchased the western 11.4 acres for future development, and will sell half of this to Claremont Graduate University for their expansion plans.
In fall 2010, Pitzer College proposed purchasing 14 acres to the east of the temporarily protected portion with the intention of renovating the Infirmary and establishing a new institute centered there.
The Friends of the Bernard Biological Field Station (FBBFS) produce newsletters which include updates on the situation and information on the plants and animals, as well as on other items of interest.
The Robert J. Bernard Field Station is managed by a Director in consultation with a Faculty Advisory Committee.
This committee advises the director on: academic uses and research, appropriate usage by community groups, habitat maintenance and traffic monitoring, as well as budgetary needs.
