The Nipissing Field Centre (NFC) works closely with AFER by providing facilities, equipment and logistics support. The NFC also occasionally provides similar support to other groups interested in wildland ecology and conservaton. Both AFER and th e NFC have been in operation since 1992. Resources owned and used by the NFC and AFER include land and buildings; vehicles, boats and trailors; equipment; and a library with maps and literature.

The Region

Only 20 miles southeast of North Bay and seven miles from the northwest corner of Algonquin Provincial Park, the Nipissing Field Centre is centrally located within Ontario's Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest Region. Both Lake Nipissing (50 miles long an d 20 miles wide) and the Ottawa River are less than an hour's drive away as are numerous smaller lakes, forest types, wetlands and streams. The endangered old-growth pine forests of Temagami are only 80 miles to the north and the field centre is only a h alf-day's drive away from 15 of Ontario's 65 natural regions.

The Facility

The field centre facility is composed of 13 buildings located on 99 acres of land. The director's residence can sleep eight people and includes a library, a workshop and laundry facilities. A large converted barn is used for teaching, equipment stora ge, a staff and student work area, dining and lounging. A medium-sized cabin is used as the main office and five sleeping cabins can accomodate a total of 20 people. There is one indoor and one outdoor bathroom and a shower house with four sinks and thr ee showers. Most buildings are winterized. A variety of ecosystems are found on the property including old fields, alder wetland, conifer wetland and second-growth upland mixed forest. Wolves, bear and moose frequent the property and numerous forests, wetlands, lakes and streams are within walking distance of the field centre.

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