Making Reservations
For each visit to the Reserve, once your application has been approved, submit a Reservation through the online application & reservation system https://rams.ucnrs.org.  If you are doing research, each person associated with your project must be listed individually in the application and reservations.  Remember to ask for the current gate and field station door key-box combinations. 

We do not accept reservations for "one-person-per room". Although you may initially be assigned a room to yourself, bunking needs at the field station can fluctuate with the needs of other researchers: be prepared to share your room with others who may arrive during your stay. Couples can request a room with a double bed, and may be assign one of these rooms if there is no anticipated need for the other beds in the room.  Tenting is an option for anyone who does not wish to fuss with sharing a room; all field station amenities are available to everyone, regardless of whether you sleep in the field station or choose to sleep in a tent.

What to bring
You will need to bring all of your food, bathroom toiletries/towels, personal supplies for your research/class/activity, and a sleeping bag or quilt (and all your tent and sleeping supplies, if you choose to sleep in a tent). 

What is provided​​​​​

• Drip coffee maker with filters and a bean grinder. Filters are in a drawer labelled "Coffee Supplies".
• The kitchen is complete, with all necessary dishes, cutlery, water kettle, toaster, microwave, cookware, etc.  There are two stoves and two fridges, and cabinet storage space for dry goods.  Read and comply with fridge food-storage policy, posted on one of the fridges.
• Each bed is equipped with a fitted sheet and a pillow with pillowcase. Fresh linen is available for you to change the linens when you arrive.  Please read and comply with the bed and linen use policy posted in each room.
• Men's and Women's bathrooms have a place to stash some of your toiletries.  There are four non-gender individual shower rooms. 
• A classroom is available for use upon request. Some audio-visual equipment (slide projector, computer projector, overhead projector) is available for use through special arrangement with staff.
• A landline phone is available in Rm 8 of the field station - this is an extension of the staff's office phone (707 995 9005). Don't answer the phone during regular office hours (8 a.m through 5 pm), but PLEASE do answer it in the evening even if you know the phone call is not for you (yep, just like we all used to do before personal cell phones!).  You may receive calls at this number after 6 pm.  Do not make outgoing calls without approval from Reserve staff unless there is an emergency.
• Internet is available at a computer terminal in the library. The connection is through satellite, so service is of moderate speed.  All staff and visitors share the same internet service, which has a limited daily bandwidth ... when the daily allocation is used up, all internet becomes unavailable. No streaming of video, audio, or excessive web surfing. 
• A dry-lab workspace in the field station, and a workroom area in the adjacent warehouse, are available for use upon request. A fridge and freezer are available for refrigerating non-food items. Please arrange use of the freezer before storing samples.
• A washer and drier are available in Room #8 of the field station.
• The lounge area has a TV with VCR and DVD players (TV gets no reception) and a collection of tapes/DVDs. Some games and free reading books are available.
• Outgoing mail is picked up Mon-Fri if left in the Reserve mailbox; have it in the outgoing mail pouch by 9 a.m.. Leave the "outgoing mail" pouch dangling outside the mail chute. We suggest you not leave mail in the box overnight.
• Recreational opportunities - ask reserve staff for suggestions, and see postings in the dining area.
• A first-aid kit is in the recycling&storage room (#10) and in the workroom area of the warehouse.
• Some short-term storage space is available for equipment or large personal items; storage of additional personal items for those who are making repeat visits during the field season and would like to keep some supplies (food, bedding, etc) at the reserve between visits can be arranged.

Field Station Use Rules

• If you have not already done so, you and all members in your crew need to read and complete a Waiver. Spare waivers are in the main entrance of the field station, on a clipboard to the right of the radios, or can be downloaded when you make a reservation. Please leave completed forms in the labelled box near the clipboard. 
• For safety in the field, we provide hand-held (walkie talkie) radios. One radio per field team, unless you've made other arrangements with Reserve staff. Instructions for the radios are posted next to the radios. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the radios before going into the field, and keep the radio on even if you do not anticipate using it to call someone. Reserve staff may need to contact you while you are in the field, and Reserve staff monitor the radio during regular working hours, and will continue to monitor it for as long as necessary if you are in the field after work hours. 

If something is not working correctly, PLEASE report it to staff (eg shower handle is malfunctioning, a door is not closing properly, a cooking pot was irreparably scorched, etc).  Staff are around enough that we'll generally notice if things are not running smoothly, but we don't cook or shower or live at the station and may miss some things that are not functioning properly.   Also, if there are any kitchen implements you would like to see at the station, supply shortages (e.g. , getting low in coffee filters, cleaning supplies, etc), let us know.  Thanks!

Use of the field station and adherence to Use Rules is by the honor system; you need to make sure everyone in your team/group adheres to the general rules. There is no cleaning staff! If we grant you permission to use the field station, it is under the condition that you agree to keep it clean for everyone who is there or may come after you, and comply with all rules so that the field station functions well for all users. 

General use areas

•  All running water at the Reserve is from rainwater collected during the rainy season.  Please be very conservative with your water use ... do not waste water by letting taps run while you brush your teeth or are doing dishes.  Bottled drinking water is provided in the kitchen (a supply of 5-gallon containers are in the main entryway of the field station).
• Anyone using the field station, whether briefly or overnight:  clean up after yourself constantly (i.e. wipe down counters and tables, clean your dishes and empty the dish rack).  Keep the general-use areas cleared of personal items.  Someone newly arriving at the field station should find a clean and neat environment which is inviting and welcoming, not a cluttered space that appears to belong to someone else.  Arrange with staff for a personal work space if you need one.
• Each person must do 10 minutes of cleaning in the field station per night spent at the field station. The daily 10 minutes can be fulfilled daily, or can be accumulated for a few days to complete a more time consuming cleaning task. A cleaning-task check-list is posted on the wall below the kitchen counter.  If you like, staff may have a special task which needs attention (e.g. there may be some weeding you could do in exchange for cleaning duty); if you're interested, ask us.
• If you arrive late in the evening and leave early in the morning, please make sure you still squeeze in your cleaning task.
• Make sure all exterior doors are locked if you are the last person out. If in doubt, lock the doors.
• If you wish to watch a video/DVD, make sure it's OK with other Reserve users to make sure you are not disturbing anyone trying to work. Similarly, if you are working in the general use areas, be respectful and tolerant of those who may wish to quietly socialize or relax with a movie.
• If you have personal items that you wish to have locked up, please discuss this with Reserve staff.
• Please limit your time on the computer in the library if there are others needing this computer.
• Please do not remove from the field station any of the reference books in the library.  Feel free to consider the general fiction books in the couch area as a book exchange.
• Please familiarize yourself with all instructional and policy documents posted on the fridges in the kitchen, in the bedroom and bathroom, and in the dining area.

Bedrooms

• When you arrive, change the linens on your bed if you wish (fresh linens are in room #8). When you leave, please, keep the linens on the bed; i.e. DO NOT strip the sheets off the bed or change the linens!  Your compliance allows us to keep the matresses and mattress covers clean and prevent the yucky-mattress syndrome you may have encountered elsewhere.  If you are staying for a longer period, please launder your own bedding along with your clothing as needed.
• Keep your bedroom neat. Please refrain from using the empty beds for storage. You may need to share your room at times during your stay - we will provide notice of this as far ahead of time as possible.
• Before you leave, and after you have packed up all your belongings, wipe down surfaces in the bedroom and sweep/mop the floor (don't forget to sweep under the bed).

Kitchen

• The station has several drip coffee makers (one on the counter, others in cabinets), a coffee grinder, and drip-coffee filters (in the "coffee supplies" drawer).  Consider bringing your own filters if you have a large group.
• We try to keep on-hand a supply of basic ingredients such as cooking oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and some spices. However, if you plan to use the field station for more than a few days, or if you are bringing a large group, please bring your own supply of these items.
• The Reserve provides bottled water for drinking and cooking. The water that comes out of the taps is not intended for drinking or cooking, but it is fine for cleaning dishes, showering, brushing teeth, etc. Tap water is from rain collected during winter and stored in a large storage tank; we have a limited supply so please be conservative. 
• Trash: please don't throw out recyclables or compostables (see below). If trash cans get full, please empty them and follow directions found on one of the kitchen fridges for trash disposal.
• Please recycle. Please pay attention to the labelling above the recycling bins, and sort the recycling properly. RINSE ALL BOTTLES.  Clean all food-container recyclables thoroughly; we do not want to attract animals to dried food residues, and we store our recyclables for months before bringing them to the recycler, and don't want food residues to mold or rot. Recycling bins are located in Room #10.
• Please compost all vegetable or food scraps (meat scraps included). The compost bucket is beside the trash bin nearest the fridges. If a compost bucket is full, snap on the lid, put the bucket outside the north door of the field station, and set up a new bucket (found atop the fridges).
• Fridges experience high use, and risk becoming messy if the fridge policy is not strictly adhered to. Please strictly follow the fridge policy:
  1. Label all items you put in the fridge, and keep all your items as consolidated as possible (there are bins atop the fridge if you need, and you can just label the bin if you keep unlabeled items in the bin). 
  2. When you leave, take ALL your refrigerated items away.  Do not assume someone else will consume the item before it expires or begins to decompose.  If you have arranged with another person to leave them your food, please make sure that person puts their label on the item so we don't assume you left behind a bunch of stuff.
  3. Keep all your unrefrigerated food in a cabinet and label the cabinet. When you leave, empty the cabinet and erase the label. You can leave unwanted dry goods in the "free" cupboard. If you will be returning to the Reserve, but not for two or more weeks, please take away your food instead of leaving it until your next visit; other visitors may need cabinet space while you are away.