UCSC’s new 2,400-acre Strathearn Ranch Reserve in San Benito County near Hollister

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- UC Santa Cruz announced Thursday that they are receiving a gift of land and a stewardship endowment to establish a reserve to provide ecological and educational opportunities for UC students, faculty and other researchers.

The Strathearn Ranch Reserve was approved by the UC Board of Regents and donated through an anonymous estate gift to the campus, according to UCSC.

The school says that the location is slated to be a "2,400-acre oak-studded grassland property" in San Benito County, and will become the seventh UC Santa Cruz reserve.

“I was fortunate to have had an early preview of the property and to have seen first-hand the beauty of the landscape and the vast research and educational opportunities it offers," said Chancellor Cynthia Larive in the school's news release. "I also learned what inspired the donor to entrust us with such an extraordinary place, and take seriously the responsibility of stewarding it.”

The property is right outside of Hollister and about 90 minutes from the UCSC campus.

The school says that the reserve will act like a living laboratory and outside classroom for field study and research. It will host both undergraduate as well as graduate courses on a number of topics. UCSC Students will also be able to stay overnight to deepen their studies.

School professors said that they are excited about the opportunity to help their students learn a variety of things through the scientific method via observing nature.

"We can bring engineering students, art majors, students studying literature, ecology, astronomy, evolutionary biology, whatever, to a part of California they don’t get to see every day," said the Director of the UC Santa Cruz Natural Reserves Gage Dayton.

Strathearn Ranch caretaker for over 50 years, Jerald Heisel, told UCSC that he's excited to see the ranch go to academia. "I am looking forward to seeing the ranch transform from a cattle ranch to a center for learning, teaching, research, and discovery," he said.

According to UCSC, the land is valued between $7 and $10 million with the property secured with the UC Regents in 2025.

Learn more about the features of Strathearn Ranch and how it will influence UCSC scholastics, here.