Projects Funded: 18
Total Amount Distributed: $74,099.81
Project: More Mesa Preservation Handbook
Amount Funded: $2,500
With funding from the coastal Fund, the More Mesa Preservation Coalition has completed a document that will provide a single objective and accessible source of all available information regarding this area. This summary of known ecological, recreational, aesthetic, and other resource data for More Mesa will be used by students, the general public, agency staff and decision-makers, public interest groups, and potential developers. This project relates very directly to the part of Costal Fund’s Mission Statement that deals with educating and informing the community about the biological diversity and ecological processes found in the coastal areas of UCSB.
Project: A Comparison of Seedling Densities and Male vs. Female Sex Ratios at Five Sites Around UCSB and within the Santa Barbara Channel
Amount Funded: $995.81
This project, funded by the Coastal Fund, will build upon research conducted in the recent past through UCSB by researchers including Christine Addison, Scott Bull, Dr. Carol Blanchette, Dr. Sally Holbrook, and Dr. Dan Reed. Better understanding of the species Phyllospadix torreyi life history will contribute to better stewardship and management of all marine resources surrounding UCSB. Additionally, internships for UCSB students in ecological research will be provided.
For more information, please visit http://www.msi.ucsb.edu
Project: Studies of fouling communities to assist California’s coastal boaters in reducing the spread of hull-borne invasive species.
Amount Funded: $894
The overall goal of this project, funded by the Coastal Fund, is to provide data that will assist in the management of hull borne exotic fouling species. The emphasis of this project is to explore factors that influence the distribution and abundance of these species and investigate methods of control that do not degrade water quality. This project will also employ 2 students in internship positions.
For more information, please visit http://www.msi.ucsb.edu
Project: Environmental education training for UCSB students and K-12 Coastal Ecology Education Program Phase II
Amount Funded: $16,633
The Coastal Fund of the University of California Santa Barbara awarded the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) funding for a program that trains UCSB undergraduate students to provide hands-on placed-based environmental education through our Kids in Nature (KIN) program. The UCSB students gain valuable experience working with children and participate in the Science Mathematics Initiative, which is a UC-wide initiative focused on recruiting and training undergraduates for careers in secondary science education and mathematics teaching.
For more information, please visit http://ccber.lifesci.ucsb.edu/
Project: Habitat Restoration Internship Program
Amount Funded: $910
Coal Oil Point Reserve is in the middle of implementing this project. Interns, provided with funds from the Coastal Fund, have been essential to help with restoration tasks and COPR hopes to be able to have them this quarter to continue the restoration of the WCB project. The primary restoration activity for these interns will be planting of native coastal sage scrub species, and maintaining the planting sites.
For more information, please visit: http://coaloilpoint.ucnrs.org/
Project: Public Service Announcement About Single Use Bags
Amount Funded: $4,388
Highliner Studios, with funding from the Coastal Fund, is to produce a series of public service announcements (PSA) about single use bags in Santa Barbara County. The purpose will be for educational outreach to the local community, and sustainable living practices for individuals and business owners.
For more information, please visit www.highlinerstudios.com
Project: Outreach Programs at Coal Oil Point Reserve
Amount Funded: $8,000
The nonprofit Shorelines & Watersheds, with funding from the Coastal Fund, recently expanded outreach programs at COPR, an area rich in ecological and cultural values. The funding provided will finance improvements in COPR’s Guided Tour Program, including hiring a number if students as interns. The Program, which began only six months ago, offers to two tours per month that are open to the public.
For more information, please visit http://coaloilpoint.ucnrs.org
Project: Snowy Plover Recovery Program at Coal Oil Point Reserve
Amount Funded: $2,160
The Coastal Fund has awarded funds to the Snowy Plover Recovery Program at the campus’s Coal Oil Point Reserve (COPR). The Santa Barbara Audubon Society (SBAS) received $2,160 to enrich and sustain the Snowy Plover Docent Program and to support the operations of the Snowy Plover Chick Nursery for the 2009 breeding season. Both programs are aimed at protecting and preserving the federally protected Western Snowy Plover and its critical habitat managed at COPR.
For more information, please visit http://coaloilpoint.ucnrs.org/
Project: Gaviota Coast Protection
Amount Funded: $10,000
EDC, with support from the Coastal Fund, is using $10,000 to help underwrite the cost of public education and outreach regarding the Naples development proposal on the Gaviota Coast. This project seeks to conserve and protect the ecological integrity of the Gaviota coastline. The proposed grant would provide funds for education and outreach into the student community through media, flyers, posters, and other appropriate avenues. It will assist in covering the cost of a staff person to assure that materials are created and distributed and information made available to all.
For more information, please visit http://www.edcnet.org/
Project: Student Involvement in Critical Coastal Issues
Amount Funded: $6,000
The Coastal Fund will be awarding a $6,000 grant to underwrite the cost of student internships at the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) for two quarters in 2009. The grant will pay stipends and provide funds to students for projects, which protect the biodiversity and ecological integrity of the local shoreline and provide educational and outreach efforts to the UCSB community.
For more information, please visit http://www.edcnet.org/
Project: Beaches as threatened ecosystems: evaluating trends in the ecology of California’s sandy beaches
Amount Funded: $14,244
With funding from the Coastal Fund, the Marine Science Institute at UCSB will be compiling and archiving 30 years of research to create a historical record of the local coastline regression. The record will then be analyzed and used to predict future regression rates, which will aid in a number of educational outlets. The project will also give four undergraduate UCSB students internships.
For more information, please visit http://www.msi.ucsb.edu/
Project: Rise Above Plastics
Amount Funded: $700
The Rise Above Plastics campaign, funded by the coastal Fund, is an ongoing project being undertaken by the Surfrider Foundation in order to educate the public on the environmental harm of single-use plastics. Isla Vista Surfrider will concentrate the following months on reducing the waste of single-use bags.
For more information, please visit http://www.surfrider.org/islavista/
Project: Snowy Plover Docent Program at Coal Oil Point Reserve
Amount Funded: $1,000
The funding for this project, provided by the coastal Fund, will be for contracted work with an undergraduate student to assist with the program’s overall coordination from February through April 2009.
For more information, please visit http://coaloilpoint.ucnrs.org/
Project: Eutrophication Monitoring Project: A Survey on Nitrate and Phosphate Concentrations in Local Waterways
Amount Funded: $800
The survey of water quality and health, funded by the Coastal Fund, will focus on two major creek sites in the Goleta region (San Jose Creek and San Pedro Creek), and three major waterways (Goleta Slough, UCSB Lagoon, and Devereux Slough). The data will then be used in future research around UCSB and the local community.
Project: Restoration Ecology Seminar Promotion and Support
Amount Funded: $750
CCBER offers a quarterly seminar focused on local and regional restoration projects and conservation themes. This spring 2009, with funding from the Coastal Fund, CCBER is focusing on Channel Islands Restoration projects. Many of these projects are ongoing and provide opportunities for students to learn about opportunities to get involved in restoration locally. Similarly, the funding allows for an internship.
For more information, please visit http://ccber.lifesci.ucsb.edu/
Project: Ecological Restoration Internship
Amount Funded: $3,125
This funding through the Coastal Fund will provide 5 student interns who will work with CCBER to restore natural campus wetlands and natural areas. The interns will gain valuable fieldwork expertise and ecological knowledge.
For more information, please visit http://ccber.lifesci.ucsb.edu/