June 2018

NRS fundraising campaign

The NRS has kicked off its first fundraising campaign in more than 40 years. The 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign seeks to raise $50 million to revitalize reserves across the system and support three initiatives that utilize the NRS as a system. Please consider a contribution, and help us spread the word! Read more >>

Parks and water bond windfall

The NRS will receive $10 million from the parks, environment, and water bond approved during the June 5 election. Reserves will be required to match any bond funds they receive, producing twice the bang per public buck. Read more >>

NRS wildflower research leads to science honor

UC Davis professor Susan Harrison has received one of the nation's highest scientific honors: election to the National Academy of Sciences. An ecologist who studies how plant diversity is maintained, Harrison bases her research at NRS reserves such as McLaughlin Natural Reserve and Bodega Marine Reserve. Among her discoveries: drying due to climate change is reducing the diversity of wildflowers and other native plant communities. Read more >>

Stunt Ranch mentorship key to science fair win

Good guidance in science can go a long way. Case in point: the winner of the environmental research prize at this year's state science fair was mentored at the NRS's Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve. Reserve scientists helped guide high school student Tai Michaels's study of fire effects on southern California chaparral ecosystems. Read more >>

NRS field course journal

The NRS field course has launched its own publication featuring original student field studies. Every issue of California Ecology and Conservation Research is a collection of the final research papers from each class. Papers are based on original field research designed, conducted, analyzed, and written up by students in the NRS's California Ecology and Conservation course. The first two issues feature papers from the Summer 2017 and Fall 2017 cohorts; papers from other classes will follow. Read more >>

Sedgwick Walking Ecology

On June 9, visit the NRS's Sedgwick Reserve to attend lectures, take a hike, and explore this Santa Ynez Valley reserve. Your suggested donation of $20 per person supports the reserve's public education program. 3566 Brinkerhoff Rd., Santa Ynez. Learn more and register >>

Snakes, science, and Sedgwick Reserve
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Hayley Crowell, a graduate student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, studies rattlesnake physiology at Sedgwick. Join her on an easy walk within a mile of the field station to locate and observe rattlers safely. Learn about their habitats, behavior, and the key role they play in the local ecosystem. Afterward, Crowell will present her project, "Predicting the effects of climate change on thermal ecology and energy budgets of snakes," at the reserve's Tipton Meeting House. Register >>

NRS IN THE NEWS

The waves are glowing
Scripps Coastal Reserve
NPR

Cute chicks—helping snowy plovers at the zoo
Coal Oil Point Reserve
Santa Barbara Zoo

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