Projects
Year
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Three students standing together

Eco-Entrepreneuship: Bad Grass

Arundo donax, or giant reed, is an invasive plant species that thrives around rivers and streams. Bad Grass creates consumer products thus promoting demand for Arundo biomass. By introducing a line of cannabis pipes that are strategically positioned between joints and pipes, we can attract customers interested in smoking out of disposable pipes.

Faculty Advisors: Bruce Kendall, Mark Buntaine

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Group of four students smiling

Eco-Entrepreneurship: Powered by Moxie

Powered by Moxie is an Eco-Entrepreneurship Project that analyzes the environmental impacts of different types of grocery and snack packaging and offers a solution to reduce packaging waste by using reusable packaging. Powered by Moxie delivers farmer’s market produce and snacks to corporate offices as a supplemental employee benefit program.

Faculty Advisors: Matt Potoski

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Group of four students smiling

Whales, Vessels, and Fish: Economic Valuation of Whale Watching and Marine Spatial Planning Surrounding Dominica

To reduce the risk of vessel strikes on the Caribbean community of sperm whales off the coast of Dominica, this project created a dynamic marine spatial plan for the coast waters of Dominica and proposed shipping lanes that will avoid high suitable habitat of sperm whales.

Faculty Advisors: James Frew

Clients: Dominica Sperm Whale Project

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Cookstoves are distributed to rural Rwandans to be used

Adopt-a-Cookstove

Looking to help Adopt-a-Cookstove find and communicate with its target audience, the team conducted interviews with industry experts and researched its competitors. With this information they designed infographics and a website for the organization.

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

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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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Sea bluffs eroding under buildings

Let's Talk About Sea Level Rise

The California Coastal Commission knows how important it is for Californians to prepare for a future that will include sea level rise. This project aimed to create digestible communication tools for the agency that highlight the importance of sea level rise planning and adaptation in coastal communities.

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

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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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Get Hooked Seafood

Get Hooked Seafood Market(ing)

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.

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

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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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Five students and faculty mentors posing for a photo

Managing the Impacts of Environmental Education in Protected Areas: A Case Study at the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve

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.

Faculty Advisors: Sarah Anderson

Clients: The Nature Conservancy

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Community for Climate Action

Community for Climate Action

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.

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

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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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Group of five students in courtyard smiling

Using Food Waste to Reduce Food Waste: Evaluating the Impacts of Sourcing Food Waste as a Raw Material for Production

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.

Clients: Apeel Sciences

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Snowy Plover

Snowy Plover Conservation

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.

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

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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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podcast microphone

‘Greenhouse Sass’ Podcast

The ‘Greenhouse Sass’ podcast breaks down current environmental headlines, in an accessible and conversational way. With quirky humor, topical environmental issues are explained by reviewing relevant scientific studies. Three 20-minute episodes will be discussed,  covering Microplastic Generation, Coral Bleaching, and the future of Renewable Energy. 

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

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A student group poses with faculty and PhD advisors with an ocean backdrop

Improving Citizen Science Data Management for Resource Protection

This project team analyzed the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary's current citizen science data management system and identified improvements that will maximize the usability of this rich dataset.

Faculty Advisors: James Frew

Clients: Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

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A group of five students pose after their presentation

Cumulative Impacts Assessment for Timber Harvest: How Best to Incorporate Wildfire Risk and Hazard

The CITE Plan Project ​investigated the relationship between timber management, fire regimes and fire severity and their future regulatory incorporation by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CalFire) into the Timber Harvest Plan (THP) permit process.

Faculty Advisors: Christina Tague

Clients: California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection

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forest nature path

Parks over Pollution

Press kit materials for the National Parks Conservation Association to raise awareness on the impacts of fracking on California National Parks and to encourage community engagement.

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

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Living Rivers

Living Rivers

A short film for The Nature Conservancy exploring the impact of climate change on Eastern Sierra rivers, featuring local residents and managers.

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni