ABOUT REFS

The Research and Education Field Station (REFS) is located next to the 155-acre St. Anne Woods and Wetlands Natural Area, a conservation easement along the Ohio River. Situated within the Outer Bluegrass Ecoregion, the site features open and closed canopy wetlands, upland grasslands, mixed mesophytic forests, and areas of old-growth beech forest.

REFS supports a wide range of research and educational activities. The facility offers indoor laboratory and field processing space, teaching and meeting areas, and accessible restrooms—providing everything needed for both field and classroom learning.

The proximity of REFS to the NKU campus expands the opportunity for ecological undergraduate instruction while providing unique interdisciplinary teaching opportunities over a range of other disciplines. This facility enhances community outreach programs for K-12 education, summer camps, and teacher continuing education.

NKU’s Research and Education Field Station (REFS) supports a wide range of research and scholarly activities at our facilities, in the St. Anne Woods and Wetlands Natural Area, and in local streams. Projects span from measuring photosynthetic rates in shrubs and monitoring natural controls of Amur honeysuckle, to evaluating invasive species impacts on amphibians, collecting baseline data on native longhorn beetles, and assessing the potential effects of climate change on stream fishes. All of this work is united by two central themes: invasion biology and climate change.