This year, we encourage gifts through One Day One KU in support of our efforts to increase the physical accessibility of the KU Field Station, which our research center has managed since 1998. We also welcome gifts to our unrestricted KBS Director's Fund.

We are still working to meet our key accessibility goal of purchasing one or more all-terrain wheelchairs. These would enable more people to comfortably access trails, uneven roads and other Field Station areas when they visit with groups that are on foot. They would ease the inclusion of more researchers, students in field-based classes, and visitors taking part in scheduled programs.

The University’s biological field station opened in 1947. It covers three sites and 3,200 acres, with the core research area just 20 minutes from main campus. The Field Station is a resource for the KU community, other institutions and the public. It includes five miles of public trails.

Progress toward accessibility at the Field Station includes these steps:

• The Armitage Education Center — the central multipurpose building at the core research area — is heavily used by visitors and highly accessible, with all spaces (hearth room, classroom, kitchen, laboratories) at ground level and ADA-compliant restrooms.
• The research greenhouse is ADA-compliant and connected to the Armitage Center via a paved path.
• Our 4,200-square-foot research and management support facility is also ADA-compliant.
• Walkways at the popular KU Native Medicinal Plant Research Garden, south of the core research area, are an ADA-compliant fine gravel.
• The Rockefeller Prairie Trail is paved and wheelchair-accessible. This is a half-mile out-and-back trail with a turnaround point at the Kaw Valley Overlook deck, where there is a spectacular view of KU campus. The trail is accessible from a parking lot.

We appreciate your gift to help make the KU Field Station easier for all to enjoy.