This project aims to develop a baseline environmental understanding of the CHNMS region by assessing habitats and the status and trends of key species within its boundaries. This foundational assessment will use current literature and historical datasets to identify regional trends and monitoring gaps. These findings will inform the sanctuary’s first Condition Report and Climate Vulnerability Assessment, guiding future management and conservation strategies.
Black bears play a crucial ecological role as keystone species, contributing to biodiversity and ecosystem health through services such as seed dispersal, scavenging, and nutrient cycling. In recent years, black bears have been expanding their ranges into California’s Northern Bay Area. Known to be more abundant and smaller than their grizzly counterparts, they have similar impacts on the ecosystem as they increase soil fertilization through their hunting behaviors and influence the movement of other forest species. Their gradual movement through this changing ecosystem inevitably results in increased contact with humans in urban areas. While researchers are still unsure about the cause of this movement, it is becoming abundantly clear that there is a need to find methods of sustainable coexistence between humans and black bears.
The proposed project will analyze BOEM’s current permitting framework to identify key challenges, opportunities for improvement, and potential pathways to facilitate the development and implementation of small-scale projects. Possible approaches include regulatory mapping, case study examination of existing small-scale projects, and policy scenario modeling. As state and federal governments are striving for carbon reduction targets, developing a well-defined renewable energy portfolio will be paramount. This portfolio should encompass a variety of generation methods and scale sizes to optimize potential renewable energy capacity.
In an effort to address the intersection between California’s current housing crisis and escalating climatic risks, this project supports the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HACSB) in the redevelopment of Presidio Springs - a senior low-income housing complex. The team will conduct a material audit of the original development, identify sustainable and climate-resilient building materials, and formulate recommendations for green design strategies to reduce both the embodied and operational carbon footprint of the complex.
This project addresses the growing challenge of managing coastal retreat in California due to rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Beaches, wetlands, infrastructure, and private property are all at risk, and while traditional adaptation strategies like seawalls and beach nourishment offer temporary relief, they often come with significant ecological and social trade-offs. Managed shoreline retreat—strategically relocating infrastructure and development away from vulnerable shorelines—offers a more sustainable long-term solution, but it remains underused due to political resistance, high upfront costs, and a lack of clear guidance for implementation.
As California leads the country in a shift towards more sustainable energy generation sources with electrification playing a massive role, what are the technological, social, policy, and economic barriers to electrification on a community scale? How can electrification impact and benefit disadvantaged communities? Previous studies on full neighborhood electrification and decarbonization have attempted to answer these questions but have never fully characterized the effects and interactions between gas and electric systems.
Urban watersheds face ongoing pollution challenges, especially from urban runoff. Heal the Bay is a Los Angeles-based organization that has been monitoring water quality at local beaches for decades, and expanded their efforts to Los Angeles (LA) County rivers in the last ten years. Our group’s objectives are to analyze the last ten years of water quality data from Heal the Bay’s monitoring programs to investigate the water quality in areas where stormwater capture projects have been implemented.
Kelp Help aims to close critical gaps in kelp forest monitoring and restoration by leveraging Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology to improve the detection, monitoring, and analysis of kelp canopy coverage and condition.
This project explores the potential to repurpose marine waste streams into sustainable, non-synthetic fertilizers or soil amendments for home gardeners and small-scale agriculture. Our initial business model centers on capturing and diverting marine waste before it is discarded, thus reducing environmental harm while creating a locally sourced, value-added product.
The U.S. healthcare industry generates approximately 6 million tons of waste annually, which is nearly equivalent to the country of India’s entire annual waste production. SustainRx aims to equip hospitals and healthcare providers with a centralized way to track, reduce, and manage medical waste without compromising patient safety. The project will help eliminate waste at its source using a centralized, data-driven platform that enables healthcare organizations to monitor procurement and disposal patterns, assess inefficiencies, and receive actionable waste reduction recommendations.
The project’s aim is to find a new, safe and sustainable alternative to the synthetic hair products sold in the beauty industry. Focusing on the intersection between public and environmental health, ReNew’s goal addresses the harms affecting the current consumer base, specifically Black and Black mixed-race women, girls and other femmes.
For over 450 years, Pilcomayo river basin has been heavily contaminated by mining waste originating from the Potosí region, including toxic heavy metals and acidic byproducts. Advanced Minerals Technology S. Korea, Inc. (AMTSK) is taking a dual approach to address the contamination issue: environmental remediation and treatment of affected populations.
This project is a partnership between UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management and Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT) to create a regional restoration plan for the central San Joaquin Valley.
While the crucial role of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPs & LCs) and their territories in realizing global climate and conservation goals is well established, a significant gap exists in scientific knowledge in terms of the current and future implications of a changing climate on IPs’ & LCs’ territories. The newly established Global Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Center at Conservation International seeks to work with and for IPs & LCs to enhance the climate resiliency of these communities and their territories. As part of this effort, this project aims to understand the current and future impact of climate change on IPs & LCs and the biodiversity and carbon within their territories. Based on this understanding, the project team will identify strategies and actions that can be implemented to increase climate resiliency of IPs’ & LCs’ territories.
Textile waste poses a growing environmental and social challenge, with the United States generating 17 million tons annually, of which 85% ends up in landfills or incinerated. This waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, and pollution, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities near disposal sites. California's SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, addresses these challenges through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), requiring producers to fund collection and recycling programs.
MESM 2025 Eco-Entrepreneurship Project: Develop a product/service that accelerates coral bleaching prevention through the diving community, raising awareness and adding value to the diving experience
Palm fronds, common in Southern California, don’t decompose easily and overcrowd landfills. This project aims to convert palm waste into biochar to reduce landfill use, improve soil health, and sequester carbon, supporting regional waste management efforts.
MESM 2025 Group Project: Exploring High-Impact Regional Habitat Connectivity Projects in Support of a Sentinel Landscape Partnership Designation at Vandenberg Space Force Base
This project enhances the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) by incorporating cumulative climate and environmental burdens, ensuring more equitable investment in the most at-risk communities. Using advanced geospatial analysis, it refines how disadvantaged areas are identified, strengthening the impact of the Justice40 initiative.
