Teaching Facilities
All institutions of higher education are welcome to use Koffler Scientific Reserve at Jokers Hill for diverse, off-campus instructional activities.
Course field trips can take advantage of our lecture rooms and teaching lab space. Sleeping and dining facilities can serve residential field courses for up to 20 students.
Contact the KSR Director for information on availability, logistics and fees.
Teaching at KSR
Dr. Shannon McCauley, The University of Toronto, Department of BiologyKSR’s facilities, access to natural habitats, and support have been instrumental to research that integrates experimental and comparative approaches. The experiments we’ve been able to conduct at KSR have ranged from small scale lab experiments to landscape level experiments that would simply be impossible without KSR. By bridging these scales we’ve been able to conduct research that provides mechanistic insights into broad scale natural patterns. It’s also been a place for students to learn, grow as scientists, and have fun with others who share their interests in the natural world.
Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, The University of Toronto, Institute of Forestry and Conservation in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and DesignKSR has been a vital field hub of my research, teaching, and broader forest conservation efforts for many years. With its diverse vegetation and forests, KSR is a unique site where I teach a graduate ecosystem monitoring and health course. It’s a unique environment for students to gain hands-on experience in the field, develop field research skills, and learn about the challenges and opportunities of working in natural settings. Outstanding, supportive, and welcoming KSR staff and management are another reason I keep returning to KSR for teaching and research.
Dr. Spencer Barrett, The University of Toronto, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyHundreds of students have experienced their first taste of field biology in the fields, marshes and forests of KSR. KSR provides wonderful opportunities for field experiments in ecology and evolution, and for the training of students. Starting with Stephen Wright’s work on sex allocation in Trillium, we have investigated a range of problems in plant reproductive biology using diverse species and approaches. These have included the evolution of wind pollination in Carex (Jannice Friedman) and Thalictrum (David Timerman) and climate adaptation (Rob Colautti) and mating and inbreeding depression (Chris Balogh) in Lythrum.
Graduate/Undergraduate Research at KSR
Eric Etzler, PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto, Mississauga CampusIt was really easy working at KSR. I completed part of my Master’s thesis there collecting insects and never had issues getting access to areas to fields or lab space to do dissections.
Jérôme Burkiewicz, PhD Candidate at the Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de MontréalKSR represents a rare pristine site dedicated to science. I came to KSR in 2021 and 2022 to picture Impatiens capensis flowers and collect leaves and seeds in order to assess the effect of urbanization on flower shape and size. I had a wonderful experience when sampling there: the application process was quick and easy, communication with the KSR manager or director was great and my sampling ran smoothly both years I was there.
Dr. Sophie Breitbart, PhD from the University of Toronto, Mississauga CampusI spent four wonderful summers at KSR conducting an experiment with ~1000 milkweed plants. Throughout my time there, the KSR staff went above and beyond to ensure the success of my research. Also, the local wildlife is consistently marvelous. There’s nothing better than counting flowers while a bobolink sings nearby!
Learn in the field
KSR hosts undergraduate and graduate field courses for budding researchers to gain invaluable skills outside of the classroom.
(EEB405 – University of Toronto)
Physical Geography
(GGR390 – University of Toronto)
Sustainable Forestry
(FOR300- University of Toronto)
(GESC451 – Wilfrid Laurier University)
(EEB380 – University of Toronto)
(FOR301 – University of Toronto)
(AER406 – University of Toronto)
(GGR205 – University of Toronto)
(FOR1412– University of Toronto)
(FOR3002– University of Toronto)