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The Rock Creek Environmental Studies Center (RCESC) is a natural area within Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus that serves as wildlife habitat, provides ecosystem services, and is used as a living lab for PCC students and the community. It is located on the traditional lands of the Kalapuyan people. Learn more here: FiveOaksMuseum.org: This is Kalapuyan Land.
The 95-acre Rock Creek Environmental Studies Center (RCESC) is an outdoor, educational facility that serves as an essential part of several PCC academic programs as well as a place of learning and connection for the wider community. Considered to be an important natural history area by the Portland Audubon Society and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the RCESC includes approximately 28 acres of upland conifer forest, 11 acres of ash forested wetland, 35 acres of emergent and shrub-scrub wetland, 19 acres of wet prairie, and 2 acres of Oregon white oak woodland. Several smaller unique ecosystems are also present in this area, including several springs and a small pond, all of which serve as an irreplaceable setting for ecological and cultural learning. These areas provide habitat for several groups of wildlife including nesting areas for waterfowl, quail, pheasants, and songbirds; as well as being homes to mammals such as deer, beaver, muskrat, mink, raccoon, elk, bobcat, and coyote.
To learn more about this natural area, visit this StoryMap link: Welcome to the Rock Creek Environmental Studies Center
Interactive trail map
Interested in a virtual tour of the native plants growing along our trails? Please visit the links below.
- Link to Story Map with overview: Rock Creek Environmental Studies Center Native Plant Walk (arcgis.com)
- Link to interactive web application
- Scan QR for easy access on your phone:
Interested in bringing a group to visit?
The trails are generally open to the public during PCC open hours. The trails are closed on Sunday and after dark, as well as during the winter and during high winds or stormy conditions. Dogs are not allowed, as this area is considered a wildlife sanctuary. If you’d like to bring a group of more than four people to the site, please complete this group visit form.