This project analyzes data and strategies for feral pig management at the Dangermond Preserve in California to inform The Nature Conservancy's long-term management plan to reduce or eliminate the negative impacts of this invasive species on the preserve's natural and cultural resources.
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.
BioQuest is a cooperative composed of small-medium businesses and ranchers within the local food ecosystem. This Eco-E group of social entrepreneurs is looking to develop innovative, holistic solutions that incentivize climate action throughout the food supply chain.
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.
The potential for seaweed aquaculture is real, though challenges remain in expanding its use. Created for UCSB’s Seaweed Working Group, this short film addresses the benefits of seaweed aquaculture and helps those who might be skeptical better understand its sustainability and broad applicability.
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.
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.
Unicado upcycles food waste to ranch purple urchins, whose overpopulation is destroying California’s kelp forests. By creating demand for ranched urchins, the project aims to protect kelp ecosystems and introduce a sustainable seafood option to the market.
Environmental managers need a foundational understanding of environmental justice to be effective, equitable, and inclusive problem solvers. This four-part workshop series is designed to help environmental managers gain critical skills and literacy in environmental justice and equity topics.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Marketing and educational outreach materials on the health and ecological benefits of eating local seafood! Created for Get Hooked, a community-supported fishery in Santa Barbara. Customer data analysis was also undertaken to inform materials and customer retention strategy.
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.
The project analyzed the potential ecological impacts of environmental education and other activities on the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve in Lompoc, California as a case study, and to develop a long term monitoring program that can be used by preserve management agencies.
The City of Santa Barbara has been at the forefront of advancing climate policy and taking effective climate actions. To help the City achieve community-wide climate targets with inclusive community engagement, the team created climate outreach strategies, including designing a series of themed workshops and a climate ambassador program.
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.
This project worked with Apeel Sciences, a small biotechnology startup interested in sourcing food waste as an input to their product, to evaluate the environmental impacts of sourcing waste using two different Life Cycle Assessment methodologies, economic allocation and substitution.
Beach closures to protect the Western Snowy Plover in Lompoc, CA have generated negative community sentiments towards the threatened bird. But a new 2019 policy allows public access to Surf Beach. This project aims to understand community concerns surrounding beach access, and to foster environmental stewardship among Lompoc residents.