EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Learn about the incredible natural environment of the Northern Great Basin through interactive classes at Malheur Field Station, lead by devoted local experts.

*Note: Itineraries for programs may change due to weather.

Classes & Events Coming Soon

To address the MFS Mission of “facilitating environmental education in the Northern Great Basin”, MFS offers educational programs as well as partnering with others to support programs they bring to MFS. We continue to look for opportunities to enrich the experience of visitors to the High Desert. Please join us as a participant or a provider.

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  CASUAL BIRDING AND GENTLE YOGA WITH SHANNON RIO – JUNE 20-24, 2024
  CASUAL BIRDING AND GENTLE YOGA, JUNE 20-24, 2024 Join us for a 4-night program exploring the mindfulness and connection of bird watching and yoga at ...continue reading "CASUAL BIRDING AND GENTLE YOGA WITH SHANNON RIO – JUNE 20-24, 2024"
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  Entomology Program with Matt Mederios – DATES TBD (JULY/AUGUST)
  ENTOMOLOGY WITH MATT MEDERIOS - DATES TBD (JULY/AUGUST) Learn more about the insects of sagebrush county and their importance to the ecosystem.  This course will ...continue reading "Entomology Program with Matt Mederios – DATES TBD (JULY/AUGUST)"
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  Spring Birding with Harry Fuller – May 23-28, 2024
  BIRDING WITH HARRY FULLER - MAY 2024 Join Harry Fuller for a week of birding the Malheur basin and entire Steens Mountain loop. Participants will ...continue reading "Spring Birding with Harry Fuller – May 23-28, 2024"

GUEST GROUPS

Throughout the years many organizations have and continue to use our facilities. They sponsor their own programs and we provide logistics. We refer to them as Guest Groups.

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  Great Basin Butterfly 2020
  July 10-13, 2020 From Steens Mountain to the Alvord Desert, from alpine to meadow to sagebrush steppe, butterflies and moths abound in this hotspot for Northern Great Basin species.
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  Alpine Pollinator Ecology 2020
  August 14 - 16,2020 The unique mingling of desert and alpine plant communities makes Steens Mountain a hotspot for insect diversity.
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  Great Basin Flora
  July 19 - 21, 2019 - Cheryl Beyer, M.S. and Janel Johnson, M.S will lead this field course to investigate the endemics, Sierra relics and Great Basin native plants found at Steens and Hart Mountains' floristic “junctions.”
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  Butterflies of the High Desert
  July 12 – 14, 2019 – Dana Ross, M.S. offers a butterfly class at the Malheur Field Station sponsored by the Siskiyou Field Institute.
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  Reynolds High School 2019
  Tadd Reaney a Reynolds HS science teacher, has spearheaded this four day event for Freshman each year. This year Tadd brought 69 students!

VOLUNTEERING

Volunteering at MFS has been a long and valuable tradition. There are so many ways to be part of the Malheur community, check out the volunteer activities below and let us know if you’re like to join us!

Want to get involved or have another project in mind? Contact us today!

FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS

We’re making lots of changes and upgrades to the Field Station thanks to the support of donors and volunteers! 

The Malheur Field Station is alive and well and recovering from many years of deferred maintenance. It is a long road ahead, yet we are making progress one day at a time.

As funds are available we are upgrading, replacing, repurposing throughout the station. We have found many reasonable items at Habitat for Humanity. Our donors have generously donated new, used and repurposed items to bring MFS units up to date. We are applying for grants to make major improvements with the Kitchen/Dining Hall, as well as other buildings.

Thank you for your support, your donations make miracles happen at MFS!

Follow along with our improvements to the site on our blog:

Kitchenette Upgrades - 2019

Our Kitchenettes are named Owl East, Owl West and Pelican. All three units have Central Air and Heat.

Malcom Hall Upgrades

In July, 2017, thanks to grants from The Collins Foundation and the Oregon Community Foundation, new windows and siding were installed

Septic Problems - 2019

"Septic problems" is the dreaded phrase country folks least want to hear and we have had our fair share.

Maintenance Yard Cleanup

This project seems to be never ending; we started the cleanup in 2018 and it continues to this day. Getting rid of junk and garbage costs time and money

Laundry Room Building 2019

When we started in on this clean-up and improvement project the laundry room had been delegated as a storage area.

108 Screens Repaired

This Spring (2019) Stan, a retired electronics engineer from Washington state, volunteered to address the damaged screen problem on the entire Field Station.

Dorm Upgrades - 2019

Our Dorms are an integral part of our educational programs having the ability to house up to 30 attendees each.

Water Crisis - 2018

Water Crisis - February, 2018 After a heavy storm on February 18, 2018 Harney Electric Coop came out to fix a down electrical pole.  While drilling to set the new pole, they hit our main water line!  They came out to fix this problem.Over the next couple weeks it was obvious that we had major…