Community invited to open house showcasing research and educational programs
This year, the Hopland Research and Extension Center celebrates its 75th anniversary as the University of California’s principal field research facility for agriculture and natural resources in the North Coast.
Hopland REC, operated by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, invites the community to an open house on Sunday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Being a little off the beaten track in the hills east of Hopland in Mendocino County, many people in the region may not know about what we are doing here, so we are having an open house where anyone can come to learn and enjoy springtime among the oaks,” said John Bailey, Hopland REC director.
The event is free to the public and will include a short walking tour where visitors can meet scientists, participate in educational programs and hands-on learning activities, and learn about the research happening at the center.
Visitors are invited to bring a packed lunch or purchase lunch from a food truck that will be on site. RSVP is highly encouraged; RSVP for the event.
“We would love to see both familiar and new faces so we can celebrate both our impacts and our supporters, while welcoming our broad and diverse communities,” Bailey said.
Hopland REC research encompasses fire science, rangelands, Lyme disease and more
The center sits on 5,358 acres of oak woodland, grassland and chaparral lands purchased from a local rancher by the UC in 1951 to support long-term research on rangelands and environmental management.
For the past 75 years, Hopland REC has been a learning landscape, exploring how agriculture and ecology can co-exist on working lands. The site has hosted researchers from all over California and beyond, playing a key role in over 2,000 scientific publications.
Research has been conducted across a variety of fields, including sheep biology and management; rangeland improvement, including vegetation management and soil fertility; fire science; and public health related to vector-borne diseases and parasites.
Some of the knowledge gained through the studies conducted at Hopland REC has had immediate application, not only in Mendocino County, but statewide, nationwide and worldwide.
For example, intensive ecological and epidemiological investigations of the Lyme disease bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi) have been conducted at Hopland REC since the early 1980s by UC Berkeley Professor Bob Lane and colleagues.
These studies unveiled the ecology of the western black-legged tick, the primary human-biting vector of the disease. The research revealed critical habitat for these ticks is in leaf litter and decaying downed trees – all inviting places to take a seat during a woodland walk. This tick research has led to public health guidance for people who work outdoors so they can reduce the risk of tick bites and potential infection.
These researchers also uncovered an unlikely hero in Hopland REC’s woodlands, in the form of the western fence lizard. The blood of this common blue-bellied reptile contains a protein that kills the Lyme disease-causing bacteria in ticks, meaning the lizards in the Hopland oak woodlands help reduce the spread of Lyme disease.
Learning landscape features flock of sheep, vocational opportunities for young people
Hopland REC also ranches a flock of more than 200 breeding ewes used for research in veterinary medicine and range management. The sheep serve as a demonstration flock for vocational classes such as sheep shearing and a lambing school. Annual public events, including “Barn to Yarn” and the Hopland Sheepdog Trials, have given the surrounding community an opportunity to engage with sheep ranching and the wool fiber process.
In addition to its role as a research facility, Hopland REC serves as an educational center where land managers, technicians, growers and students have the opportunity to interact with this learning landscape.
Annual educational programming at the REC includes the UC California Naturalist certification course and guided public hikes. Field trips for grades K to 12 allow students from surrounding schools to observe local birds, meet young lambs and learn about how wildfire interacts with landscapes.
In recent years, Hopland REC also has served as a gateway for young professionals entering into the environmental workforce. Since 2021, the center has been a host site for GrizzlyCorps fellows – an AmeriCorps-sponsored program operated through UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment with the goal of sending recent college graduates into rural communities across California to promote regenerative food system and forest resilience projects.
GrizzlyCorps fellows serving at Hopland REC have translated materials for school field trips into Spanish, created an interpretive map, supported an oak restoration volunteer group, mapped invasive grasses and helped deliver education programs to over 2,000 students per year.
In turn, GrizzlyCorps fellows have gained valuable technical skills, professional development opportunities, and meaningful connections within environmental fields and the broader community.
“We here at Hopland REC are dedicated to – and love – working with our local communities to provide the best information possible about how to thrive in our beautiful rural area,” Bailey said. “From youth field trips to vocational training programs, from citizen science to multi-year intensive studies, our local partners have been essential in supporting our efforts.”