Program

Clients

Year

Faculty Advisors

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Close up on head of lettuce

A Sustainable Agrifinance Solution? Lending to Reward Environmental Performance

​Through modeling the effects of lending behavior on groundwater supplies and economic productivity, this project seeks to uncover how an economic incentive can affect agricultural sustainability in the Salinas Valley.

Group Members: Grace Brofman, Haley Grant, Becca Reynolds, Alexandria Wilkins, Janelle Christensen

Clients: Sustainable Conservation

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An agricultural crop growing in rows

Evaluating the Climate Mitigation Potential of Natural and Working Lands in Santa Barbara County

This project evaluates how Santa Barbara County’s working lands may be managed to best mitigate and adapt to climate change. Using TerraCount, this project aims to quantify the carbon storage impacts and co-benefits associated with a range of management activities.

Group Members: Alicia Fennell, Gavi Keyles, Madeline Oliver, Minnie Ringland, Michael Wells

Faculty Advisors: Samantha Stevenson

Clients: County of Santa Barbara Sustainability Division

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Fresh blueberries in a carton.

Reducing Agricultural Plastics’ Environmental Impacts

This project assesses viable alternatives to agricultural plastics as well as their disposal methods. The group aims to to seize the opportunity to lighten the environmental impact of the berry industry. 

Group Members: Lucas Empson, Garrett Eyer, Emma Friedl, Renata Massion, Bobby Miyashiro

Faculty Advisors: Roland Geyer

Clients: Driscoll's, Inc.

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trees in a forest and mountain creek

Prioritizing Prescribed Fire to Protect Water Quality in the Sierra Nevada

This project is identifying locations for fuels reduction to maximize benefits to river ecosystems and clean water supply. This model will be looking at fire and water processes in the Cosumnes, American, Bear, and Yuba (CABY) river regions in the Sierra Nevada Forests.

Group Members: Simone Albuquerque, Indigo Bannister, Allison Hacker, Jon Hart, Evan Heberlein

Faculty Advisors: Christina Tague

Clients: American Rivers

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solar panels

Local Clean Energy Vision for Southern California

This study aims to define “multiple benefit local clean energy” and “environmentally responsible local clean energy” in order to explore the benefits of distributed energy resources.

Group Members: Jordan Isken, Keene Morrow, Audrey Nolan, David Segan, Richard Viebrock

Faculty Advisors: Andrew Plantinga, Kyle Meng

Clients: The Nature Conservancy, Clean Power Alliance

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boulevard surrounded by trees

Analyzing Environmental and Social Impacts of Urban Forestry Practices in Tacoma, WA with PlanIT Geo™

This project is examining equity of the Urban Forest Management Plan in Tacoma, WA, assessing trees' impacts on urban sustainability and the city’s ability to maximize socio-economic and environmental benefits while minimizing harm post-intervention.

Group Members: Rachel Conway, Joanne Pham, Veronica Weber

Faculty Advisors: James Frew

Clients: PlanIT Geo

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vegetables in bins in a store

Accounting for Reductions: The Carbon Footprint of a Zero Waste Grocery Store

This project will compare Nada Grocery’s carbon emissions and plastic waste production under a business as usual scenario to a variety of probable scenarios that could happen as a result of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Group Members: Mike (Ruiheng) Jin, Andrew Salvador, Kate Shoemaker, Shelby Walsh, Victoria Wallace

Faculty Advisors: Sarah Anderson

Clients: Nada Grocery, Inc.

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coal power plant

Nori Business to Consumer Development

Nori is a growing carbon removal company looking to expand their audience and increase carbon removal purchases. This consulting-style project involves extensive audience research, audience profiles, competitive analyses, and strategic messaging.

Group Members: Jordan Isken, Renata Massion, Peter Omasta, Minnie Ringland

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

Clients: Nori Inc.

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Trail in the Santa Barbara mountains

Parks Are Essential Campaign

The Conejo Recreation & Parks Department hopes to reach residents to communicate benefits of local parks to spark increased use, interest, and support for future park initiatives. This multi-part, research-based campaign includes a survey, strategic messaging, video competitions, and calls to action.

Group Members: Veronica Weber, Yani Pohl

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

Clients: Conejo Recreation & Parks Department

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Beautiful monarch butterfly perches delicately on the vibrant petals of a purple flower

Saving Monarchs

The Western Monarch’s population has dropped precipitously, with only 1,914 individuals observed in 2020. To help save this iconic species from extinction, this project is working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help nurseries, gardeners, and community-members to adopt monarch-friendly behaviors.

Group Members: Lizzy Schattle, Zoe Duerksen-Salm, Courtney Krone, Marie Bouffard, Nicole Schmidt

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

Clients: US Fish and Wildlife Service

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Five students stand together

Quantifying and Managing Microplastics From Footwear Use: Outsole Loss Through Wear

In partnership with Adidas AG, the Future Footwear team seeks to understand the microplastic problem that is generated from the footwear industry within the United States.

Faculty Advisors: Roland Geyer, Patricia Holden

Clients: Adidas

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Group of four students smiling

Climate Change Impacts to City of Santa Barbara Water Supplies

This project provides an analysis of a range of potential variations in streamflow for the Santa Ynez River watershed, and therefore inflow to the City of Santa Barbara's reservoirs, from 2020 to 2058.

Faculty Advisors: Arturo Keller, John Melack

Clients: City of Santa Barbara Public Works

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Group of five students in courtyard smiling

Evaluating Connectivity in the Northern Appalachian and Acadian Region to Improve Wildlife Mobility

This project developed a framework for habitat connectivity in the Northern Appalachian/Acadian ecoregion to improve conservation outcomes through specific conservation goals, enhanced connectivity models, and methods for priority setting. The framework was applied to a case study in the Mohawk Valley of New York State, a new Staying Connected Initiative priority area. The case study informs future road barrier mitigation and land conservation work undertaken by SCI partners, The Nature Conservancy , and the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy. 

Faculty Advisors: Frank Davis

Clients: The Nature Conservancy

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Four students smiling together

Understanding Multiple Benefits of Managed Aquifer Recharge for the Resilience of California’s Water Supply

This project team designed a transferable decision support tool to help Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) in California’s Central Valley to identify the most suitable sites for MAR, giving them the information they need to plan for a more reliable and resilient water supply that can provide the most benefit for local communities and ecosystems.

Faculty Advisors: Scott Jasechko

Clients: Environmental Defense Fund

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four students posing together

Assessing Agricultural Carbon Quantification Methods

This project assessed the effectiveness of regenerative organic practices to store soil carbon, modeled greenhouse gas emissions and evaluated the effect of different regenerative organic practices on total GHG emissions, and developed recommendations for Patagonia on which practices have the largest impact on carbon sequestration in the soil.

Faculty Advisors: Kyle Meng

Clients: Patagonia

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Group of four students smiling

Evaluating and Improving the Ability of an Adaptive Management Framework (FISHE) to Identify and Resolve Fishery Management Challenges related to Climate Change

This project examined if the Environmental Defense Fund's Framework for Integrated Stock and Habitat Evaluation (FISHEF) would continue to provide sound guidance to data-limited fishery managers given the influences of global climate change on fish.

Faculty Advisors: Steve Gaines

Clients: Environmental Defense Fund