Funded Projects Winter 2014

  1. United Way of Santa Barbara County: Fun in the Sun – Summer of Service
    FITS is a national award-winning summer learning program designed to: 1) improve academic, behavioral, and social skills in financially and academically struggling children (ages 7-18), and 2) address the long-term effects of summer learning loss and the achievement gap on participants, their families, and the community. To do so, FITS incorporates service-learning curriculum into its comprehensive programming by offering participants hands-on educational activities that focus on environmental/disaster preparedness issues. Held at six south Santa Barbara County sites, FITS promotes literacy, science/math, character development, and civic engagement, while inspiring students to pursue higher education and potential careers in environmental/disaster preparedness fields.
    Total Funded: $500.00

 

  1. CCBER: Kids in Nature
    Ten undergraduate students will be selected to serve as Kids in Nature (KIN) interns during spring quarter 2014. The interns will have successfully completed the Education Practicum course (EEMB 189/ES 191), which they have offered each quarter since 2008. The KIN interns will serve as mentors for the over 90 5th grade students who are part of the KIN program. The UCSB students have already worked with the same KIN students for 2 quarters, which gives a wonderful continuity and builds on the already established relationships. The interns will each lead one of the KIN groups of 4-5 students in classroom activities and on field trips. During spring quarter, the interns will also be responsible for serving as leaders for the development of the final Power Point presentations. Each KIN group presents on the final Celebration Day at UCSB in June 2014.
    Total Funded: $12,576.37

 

  1. CCBER: Restoration Intern Training Program Spring, Summer, Fall 2014
    CCBER seeks funding for student interns to participate in CCBER restoration work in multiple sites and habitats from the Campus Lagoon Dune and Bluff restoration to Storke Wetland. Eligible students have generally participated in CCBER’s Restoration Ecology Field Skills Class (ES95) in which CCBER Staff provide three or four options for three-hour training sessions per week for a quarter-long internship focused on a range of relevant restoration skills. CCBER seeks Coastal Fund support for 6 paid student interns for Spring and Fall 2014 quarters plus 4 internships in the summer. Students can follow-up their training with an opportunity to gain in-depth experience working with a project manager and helping with important ecological restoration projects.
    Total Funded: $5,400

 

  1. CEC’s Rethink the Drink program
    CEC’s Rethink the Drink program aims to continue plastic waste reduction in Goleta schools. For this proposal, the Community Environmental Council would like to include La Patera and Ellwood schools. The stations will help reduce dependence upon single use plastic water bottles and promote a healthy, more sustainable alternative for this coastal region. Rethink the Drink currently has 30 refill stations throughout Santa Barbara County, with the goal of reaching every school in the county and eventually including afterschool facilities and public spaces such as parks. The education component offers assemblies, classroom presentations and participation at events like Science Nights and Back to School nights.
    Total Funded: $7,880.00

 

  1. Collins Laboratory: The Effect of Hypoxia on the Early Life History Stages of Rockfish and Cabezon
    Hypoxic conditions caused by pollutants and nutrient over-enrichment from anthropogenic activities are an increasing threat to the coastal environment. This project will examine the effects of hypoxia on the early life-history stages of two coastal fish namely cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus) and rockfish (Sebastes spp.). Embryos and/or larvae from our two model fish will be exposed to various levels of hypoxia and changes in survival, abnormalities in the timing of developmental events and morphogenesis determined. These studies represent a novel evaluation of the impact of the degradation of the coastal environment on the reproductive potential of commercially and recreationally important fishes.
    Total Funded: $6317.50

 

  1. Santa Barbara Audubon Society: Santa Barbara Audubon Society Education Program
    Ten pairs of binoculars will be purchased for use in the Santa Barbara Audubon Society’s (hereafter SBAS) Education Programs. The SBAS Education Committee seeks to expand the education programs and outreach to local students and community to help fulfill the SBAS’ mission statement, “To help conserve and restore the earth’s natural ecosystems and improve it’s biological diversity, principally in the Santa Barbara area, and to connect people with birds and nature through education, science-based projects and advocacy.”
    Total Funded: $1089.94

 

  1. South Coast Habitat Restoration (SCHR): Watershed Restoration Internship
    This proposal seeks funding for a stipend/compensation for two UCSB student internship positions over the 2014 Spring and Summer quarters. The interns will assist with the implementation of a variety of watershed restoration projects under the guidance and supervision of SCHR staff. Additionally interns will be involved in community outreach at local festivals and volunteer events with SCHR. This work will focus on projects that restore stream habitat for the endangered southern steelhead trout throughout Santa Barbara County’s coastal streams.
    Total Funded: $2,573.00

 

  1. GreenScreen Environmental Media Program
    The GreenScreen Environmental Media Program brings together student environmental filmmakers with local organizations and research groups who are working for the preservation of the Santa Barbara coast. The student environmental filmmakers learn about critical coastal sustainability issues in the UCSB area and then translate these issues through film to help educate their peers and campus and community leaders. We believe that effectively communicating the importance of these issues will incite students and community members to take action. GreenScreen prioritizes distribution, showing these videos to classes around campus, at community events, environmental film festivals, and on the Internet.
    Total Funded: $5950.00

 

  1. Environmental Defence Center: Goleta Beach Preservation and Restoration Project
    The most critical decision affecting the future of Goleta Beach will occur in mid-2014 when the County Board of Supervisors votes to pursue permits for (1) coastal armoring which negatively impacts beaches, or (2) a Park Reconfiguration and Beach Restoration Alternative. A UCSB intern will educate students, faculty, and the greater community about the environmental implications of the Project, and will facilitate public involvement to assure the best decision about Goleta Beach Park’s future. The objective of the project is to use science and education to preserve and enhance the ecological integrity of Goleta Beach’s coastal habitats and the recreational values of Goleta Beach Park.
    Total Funded: $9120.00

 

  1. IV Recreation & Park District: Mutt Mitt Program
    The Mutt Mitt dispensers in Isla Vista parks provide more awareness to park users by encouraging them to clean up after their pets. The Mutt Mitts are replenished on an ongoing basis and there is a waste receptable below the dispenser for people to discard used Mutt Mitts. Under each Mutt Mitt dispenser there is also an aluminum 6” x 8” sign showing the name of the sponsor.
    Total Funded: $700.00

 

  1. CCBER: Devereux Slough Coastal Flora and Fauna
    The Devereux Slough Coastal Wetland Project (the “DSCW Project”) seeks to restore the historic functions of a riparian-to-estuary transition that will enhance the quality of existing wetlands and effectively double the wetland habitat in the Devereux Slough system. A crucial component of the restoration project is to develop a Research and Monitoring Plan. The overarching goals and objectives of the Research and Monitoring Plan are to aid scientists and stakeholders in assessing the success of the DSCW Project and assist managers in adaptive management strategies as the restoration progresses through its various phases. This grant is sought to compile the baseline database of coastal flora and fauna species abundance and diversity that could be supported by suitable habitats created through the restoration project and incorporated into the monitoring protocol.
    Total Funded: $1,125

 

  1. CCBER: Tracking Springs and Irrigation Water Sources Using Stable Isotopes
    The Cheadler Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration have two main goals for this project. The first is to understand if the persistent water found in the SW arm of the golf course and at the top of South Parcel is artisanal/spring water being pushed to the surface at tectonic faults. It is important because persistent fresh water is key to local wildlife and it will be important to understand these freshwater sources in the design of the North Campus Open Space restoration project. The restoration project will connect the golf course to saline ocean water so integrating the two water sources will be a key component of the design. We can use naturally occurring stable isotopes of Hydrogen and Oxygen to track the water source. If the creek water and the potential spring water have different signals then we know that their sources are different and important to further study and understand.
    Total Funded: $992.35
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