| |
The Nature Press is
published by:
The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological
Restoration.
© 2009 CCBER,
All rights reserved.
Graphics Design:
Kelly Campbell
Newsletter Editor:
Laurie Hannah
Newsletter Consultant:
Lynn Watson
|
|
|
| |
Lisa Stratton
|
|
| |
Native Trees Planted on Campus in Conjunction with Goleta Valley Beautiful
Along Mesa Road, around East and West Storke Wetlands and adjacent to San Miguel Dormitory, over 100 native coast live oaks, sycamore and cottonwood trees have been planted by groups of eager volunteers. Some trees were donated through the “Green Trees for the Golden State” grant awarded to Goleta Valley Beautiful, and others were purchased to replace dying pines and eucalyptus trees near campus.
North and South Parcel Project Sites
CCBER has been working with the UCSB administration to finalize details for 15 acres of restoration at the North Parcel Faculty Housing project (Ocean Walk). Once final permits are approved, CCBER will begin restoring vernal pools, vernal marshes, native grasslands, riparian woodlands and coastal sage scrub to this site while 160 units are constructed over the next few years. In conjunction with this, CCBER has been working with undergraduate researchers conducting research to determine the best restoration strategies for the highly disturbed South Parcel site where mitigation funding will support approximately 15 acres of restoration on this 69 acre parcel. We are being considered for a CalFire grant to plant 200 native trees on South Parcel, control invasive pampas grass, conduct baseline monitoring and offer public workshops on tree health assessments, wildlife monitoring and woodland management, all of which will help us define our management goals for the eucalyptus and riparian portions of South Parcel.
Restoration Intern Training Program Growing!
With Coastal Fund support, CCBER has been able to give each student participating in our credit-based restoration intern training program, a copy of our native plant book and a CCBER T-shirt. Students attend weekly 3-hour field lessons on a series of restoration topics taught by a different staff member each week. We offer three sessions per week and have been training 10 to 20 students each quarter in restoration planning, plant identification, invasive plant control strategies, site management, ethnobotany, plant propagation, water quality, vegetation and wildlife monitoring. Coastal Fund also provides funding to hire up to five of these interns in ensuing quarters to work on a particular site and gain more hands-on experience.
|
| |
Water Quality Monitoring
CCBER is participating in a yearlong study, with the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, of eutrophication in coastal lagoons and sloughs from Santa Barbara to Tijuana. CCBER’s portion includes regular monitoring of water quality indicators such as dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, pH, salinity, temperature and turbidity, as well as bimonthly algal and sediment sampling in Devereux Slough, Goleta Slough and Campus Lagoon. CCBER is also working with several interns interested in understanding the health of Campus Lagoon and the impacts of storm water runoff, sediment nutrient levels and the benefits of bioswales to water quality.
|
|
 |
Aerial photo of Campus Lagoon.
Courtesy of UCSB. |
|
