By Tim Stephens, UC Santa Cruz The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has awarded a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering to Roxanne Beltran, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz. The Packard Fellowships support young scientists and engineers who show exceptional promise and creativity. The Packard Fellowship gives Beltran $875,000 […]
Main Content
Research
Scientists from around the world conduct field research in the protected landscapes of the Natural Reserve System on topics ranging from climate change to endangered species to habitat restoration.
Teaching
Visiting a reserve brings textbook lessons about the natural world to life. Students and teachers flock to reserves from the University of California and institutions around the globe.
Public Service
From hosting school field trips, to organizing scientific lecture series, to welcoming the public for weekend classes, NRS reserves benefit California communities.
News and Highlights
Delivering environmental data from the NRS
By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System Climate is the hottest topic in California these days. As global warming heats up the West, it’s set off a cascade of effects ranging from toxic algal blooms, to tree die-offs, to wildfires of unprecedented size and ferocity. The situation has everyone asking the same question: what is […]
20 years of snowy plovers
By Sonia Fernandez, UC Santa Barbara They’re tiny, fluffy and almost perfectly camouflaged against the sand dunes of the upper beach at Coal Oil Point Reserve (COPR) at UC Santa Barbara. But for all their diminutive size and near invisibility, Western snowy plovers have staged a spectacular comeback, once again nesting in habitat they had been […]