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Exploring Mountain Lion Habitat Connectivity in Central and Southern California

Generating a multi-scale model of habitat connectivity for mountain lions in a California coastal preserve, with the intent to inform future wildlife corridor designs for conservation.

Group Members: Alyssa Broberg Kibbe, Meghan Fletcher, Grace Kumaishi

Faculty Advisors: Kelly Caylor

Clients: The Nature Conservancy

Summer Trail & Climb Report

This in-depth yet accessible report for Protect Our Winters (POW) highlights the impact that climate change has on outdoor sports and access to recreation spaces. It is meant to stimulate advocacy for climate policy among “summer sports" enthusiasts.

Group Members: Matt Koller, Sam Fearer, Will Geiken

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

Clients: Protect Our Winters

agricultural field with rows of planted strawberries crops, and rows are covers in a plastic film,

AgPlastic Solutions: Waste to Energy and Plastic Circularity in the Agricultural Industry

Mitigating the environmental impacts of this agricultural practice by developing either an alternative to plastic mulch or providing an end-of-life solution for the plastic waste.

Group Members: Craig Kopulsky, Annie Lovell, Kerry Nixon, Shelby Smith

Faculty Advisors: Ashley Larsen, Emily Cotter

Assessing Environmental Justice Implications of US Food Production

Harmonizing the NCEAS global footprint of food systems data with human welfare data to analyze patterns of environmental inequities in livestock, crop, aquaculture, and fishery production in the US.

Group Members: Connor Flynn, Mia Forsline, Scout Leonard, Alex Yousefivand (Vand)

Faculty Advisors: Ben Halpern

Clients: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)

Understanding Snow as a Resource

This short film highlights snow monitoring and hydrologic research at CUES (Cold Regions Research and Energy Laboratory & UCSB), a shared snow research site utilized by UCSB, CRREL, and Desert Research Institute (DRI).

Group Members: Alex Gaynor, Halley McVeigh, Caitie Reza

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

Clients: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL)

Optimal Green Infrastructure: Reducing Stormwater Pollution in Maunalua Bay, O'ahu, Hawai'i

Identifying stormwater areas on land that contribute the greatest amount of runoff in Maunalua Bay, Hawaii to mitigate runoff impacts, improve bay health, and benefit the community.

Group Members: Genevieve Chiong, Kristin Gill, Lauren Skube

Faculty Advisors: Samantha Stevenson-Karl

Clients: Mālama Maunalua

Improving Usability of Snow Data Through Web Based Visualizations and Tutorials

Expanding the Snow Today website's spatial domain coverage from the Western United States to all of North America, Greenland, and High Mountain Asia.

Group Members: Ryan Munnikhuis, Julia Parish, Marie Rivers

Faculty Advisors: Samantha Stevenson-Karl

Clients: UCSB Earth Research Institute

Fire Fuel Mitigation in Mammoth Lakes

This communication strategy will help the Whitebark Institute motivate second-home owners in the Mammoth Lakes area to participate in wildfire mitigation through political action and fuels reduction on personal property.

Group Members: Brianna (Bri) Baker, Kaley Dodson, Aaron Kreisberg

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

Clients: Whitebark Institute

Aerial view of channel islands and pacific ocean

Seal Bomb Impacts to Cetaceans in California National Marine Sanctuaries

Analyzing the impacts of a legal marine mammal acoustic deterrent known as a “seal bomb," underwater explosives used in purse seine fisheries.

Group Members: Ian Brunjes, Anastasia Kunz, Taylor Lockmann, Caitlin Manley

Faculty Advisors: Steve Gaines

Clients: NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Visualizing Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Coral Reef Stressors Surrounding Moorea, French Polynesia

Determining how coral reef communities have changed due to anthropogenic and environmental stressors.

Group Members: Ingrid (Allie) Cole, Felicia Cruz, Jake Eisaguirre, Charles Hendrickson

Clients: Moorea Coral Reef Long-Term Ecological Research (National Science Foundation), UCSB Marine Science Institute

Balloon Free Seas

This communication strategy for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) will help reduce harmful balloon pollution in the Santa Barbara Channel through consumer education and a local campaign focused on special events, such as holidays and graduation.

Group Members: Krista Finlay, Elena Ortiz, Lauren Skube

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

Clients: Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

Post-Fire Debris Flows: Leveraging Science for Environmental Management and Community Resiliency

Quantifying sediment distribution through modeling; economic and social cost-benefit evaluation; and recommendations and outreach.

Group Members: Nicholas Bissonnette, Mikel Irigoyen, Aaron Kreisberg

Faculty Advisors: Arturo Keller

Clients: South Coast Habitat Restoration

Tent perched on cliff overlooking national park

Visualizing Visitor Use Trends at California Campsites to Explore Equitable Access

Producing an interactive web platform that allows National Park managers to easily explore and visualize park-specific patterns such as visitation volume, demand, visitors’ origin, and more.

Group Members: Clarissa Boyajian

Faculty Advisors: Frank Davis

Clients: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), University of Montana

Conserving Cougars Through Connectivity

This short film for The Nature Conservancy is meant to inspire and educate local communities about the importance of habitat connectivity for the conservation of mountain lions and other wildlife.

Group Members: Meghan Fletcher

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

Clients: The Nature Conservancy

Kelp floats near the surface of the water

Perceptions of Seaweed Aquaculture in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties

Developing a community engagement and outreach strategy for commercial kelp producer Ocean Rainforest to use as a framework for aquaculture expansion along the California coastline.

Group Members: Janelle Gaun, Madeline McEwen, Sydney Rilum, Laurel Wee

Faculty Advisors: Hunter Lenihan

Clients: Ocean Rainforest