The UCSC-FERP is a 16-ha mapped forest plot located on the UCSC Campus Natural Reserve. It is both part of an extensive area of protected forest habitat and just a short walk from the UCSC laboratories and classrooms. Created entirely by UCSC student interns and assistants, and the site of numerous student research projects, it serves to foster research and inquiry-based teaching about ecology and evolutionary biology in a changing world. The plot includes ~23,000 tagged woody individuals larger than 1 cm diameter, with 33 woody species from 31 genera and 19 families. Oaks, tanoaks, Douglas-fir, and redwoods together comprise 3/4 of all stems. The UCSC-FERP is part of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute ForestGEO network, and follow their standardized protocols.

The UCSC-FERP has been established and supported by generous funding from the National Science Foundation (DEB-0515520, DEB-0842059), the Pepper-Giberson Chair in Environmental Studies, The UCSC Committee on Research, the UCSC Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Smithsonian Institute's Center For Tropical Forest Science (CTFS). The UCSC-FERP is part of the CTFS-ForestGEO network of mapped forest plots.  

Many UCSC-FERP internships are managed under the supervision of the UCSC Campus Natural Reserve staff. 

More information about the plot can be accessed at the main UCSC-FERP website: https://ferp.ucsc.edu/