Koffler Scientific
Reserve at Jokers Hill

Teach & Learn

With its stunning natural beauty and wealth of educational resources, KSR is an exceptional destination for teaching and learning.

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

Young people arrive at KSR for the Experimental Ecology course as science students. They leave as scientists.

Dr. Arthur Weis, University of Toronto, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

The work myself and my students have done has resulted in publications that wouldn’t have been possible without KSR. As a student, post-doc, and faculty member, KSR has continually provided a wonderful space to do meaningful research in an inclusive, caring, and helpful environment.

Dr. Rosalind Murray, The University of Toronto, Department of Biology

Teaching an undergraduate field biology course at KSR is wonderful. It’s a supportive setting for students to have their first experience with field research. At the same time, the station is home to really cool biodiversity, which is so inspiring for students in the course and allows them to develop fantastic independent research projects.

Dr. Megan Bontrager, The University of Toronto, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Graduate/Undergraduate Research at KSR

KSR is a beautiful property with all the resources needed to conduct high-quality field experiments in numerous types of study systems. Overall, my experiences doing field research and on departmental retreats at KSR have all been excellent.

Dr. Lucas Albano, PhD from the University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus

I 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!

Dr. Sophie Breitbart, PhD from the University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus

It 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.

Eric Etzler, PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus

Learn in the field

KSR hosts undergraduate field courses for budding researchers to gain invaluable skills outside of the classroom.

Temperate Field Biology
(EEB405 – University of Toronto)
Field Methods in
Physical Geography
(GGR390 – University of Toronto)
Forest Products in
Sustainable Forestry
(FOR301 – University of Toronto)
Environmental Studies Field Camp
(GESC451 – Wilfrid Laurier University)
Diversity of Insects
(EEB380 – University of Toronto)
Field Methods in Forest Conservation
(FOR301 – University of Toronto)
Aircraft Design
(AER406 – University of Toronto)
Introduction to Soil Science
(GGR205 – University of Toronto)