Projects
Year
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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

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four students posing together

Air Quality & Diabetes Risk in California

This project assessed the relationships between air pollution particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and diabetes prevalence throughout the state of California using a cross sectional and panel data approach for the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute.

Faculty Advisors: Ashley Larsen

Clients: Sansum Diabetes Research Institute

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colorful fish

Small-Scale Big Deal

Small-Scale Big Deal is a multimedia project to raise awareness of small-scale fisheries. Using short films and social media, the main objective is to illustrate who small scale fishers are, what they do, why they do it, and how consumer demand impacts their lives. @smallscaleBIGDEAL

Faculty Advisors: Lisa Leombruni

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four students standing with faculty mentor

Evaluating the Multiple Benefits Associated with Distributed Rainwater Catchment Systems in Austin, Texas

Through evaluating the benefit of adding rain capturing technology to Austin, TX, this project aimed to create a versatile evaluation framework for water management projects in other municipalities.

Faculty Advisors: Christina Tague

Clients: Pacific Institute

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Group of five students with faculty mentor on outdoor terrace

Implementing Vessel Monitoring Devices in Small Scale Fisheries: Analysis of Social and Economic Enabling Conditions to Maximize Adoption

This project analyzed the willingness of small-scale fisheries to participate in a vessel tracking program that is incentive-compatible to their preferences. The team conducted a dual response choice experiment to evaluate fisheries' preference data from surveys conducted in Indonesia and Mexico, then utilized a contingent valuation to gauge both fishers’ willingness to pay for a tracking program and the effects of fishers’ characteristics on their willingness to pay.

Faculty Advisors: Christopher Costello

Clients: Global Fishing Watch

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Five students stand with professor in group

Functional Forests: The Role of California Forests in Achieving Statewide Carbon Neutrality

In conjunction with the Joint Institute for Wood Products Innovation (through the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection), the project team aims to assess how California’s forests may support statewide carbon neutrality.​ The project focuses on determining the costs and carbon consequences of a host of forest management treatments across all forests in California, and how these treatments can contribute to the State’s climate goals. 

Faculty Advisors: Andrew Plantinga

Clients: Joint Institute for Wood Products Innovation, California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection

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Five students pose together

Assessing Brazil’s Marine Aquaculture Potential

This study explored the spatial feasibility of mariculture development and create an interactive web-based tool to predict potential locations, yields, and profitability for offshore mariculture of cobia (Rachycentron canadum) in Brazil’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Faculty Advisors: Hunter Lenihan

Clients: World Wildlife Fund Brazil

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Group of four students smiling

Creating a Region-wide Green Infrastructure Strategic Plan for Maunalua Bay

This project developed a model using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Storm Water Management Model 5.1 to facilitate identification of "hotspot" areas that contribute higher stormwater pollution relative to surrounding areas in the Maunalua Bay Region, O'ahu, Hawai'i.

Faculty Advisors: Kelly Caylor, Samantha Stevenson-Karl

Clients: Mālama Maunalua

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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