UC Santa Barbara students use real climate monitoring data to study the environment Climate monitoring stations take climate change beyond the anecdotal. These remote monitoring sites, which collect measurements on such data as temperature, wind speed, precipitation, fog and soil moisture offer more solid evidence of climate change. “I’m very proud of our site,” said […]
Sedgwick Reserve
NRS Day at UC Santa Barbara
Shorelines, woodlands, streams, and deserts were the stars of Natural Reserve System Day, celebrated at UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Feb. 8. The full day of presentations and poster sessions was sponsored by the UCSB Natural Reserve System. Held at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, the event featured speakers intimate with the […]
Study of the Seasons: Phenology at the NRS
Nature celebrates the seasons with unmistakable changes. In California, rhododendrons add bursts of pink to coastal forests, bare buckeye branches grow leaf buds, and great egrets gather to nest in tall trees. In autumn, quaking aspens turn from green to gold, toyon produce bundles of berrylike fruits, and snow geese collect by the hundreds of […]
Productive Habitat Isn’t Always More Diverse
For decades, ecologists have toiled to nail down principles explaining why some habitats have many more plant and animal species than others. Much of this debate is focused on the idea that the number of species is determined by the productivity of the habitat. Shouldn’t a patch of prairie contain a different number of species […]
Sedgwick Reserve Telescope Spots ‘Once in a Generation’ Supernova
A supernova discovered Wednesday is closer to Earth –– approximately 21 million light years away –– than any other of its kind in a generation. Astronomers believe they caught the supernova within hours of its explosion using a telescope at the NRS’s Sedgwick Reserve near Santa Barbara. Identifying a supernova explosion immediately after the event […]
Sedgwick Reserve HQ as Green as Buildings Get
by UC Santa Barbara Public Affairs The Tipton Meeting House at the University of California Sedgwick Natural Reserve has been designated one of the “greenest” buildings in the nation, earning LEED Platinum certification –– the highest sustainability rating possible –– from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The newly constructed, privately funded visitor and education […]
Sedgwick Gets a Green HQ
With a thumbs up from the building inspector, Sedgwick Reserve has gotten the ok to occupy a brand new headquarters building. The 3,600-square-foot Tipton Meeting House will be multifunctional. In addition to acting as headquarters for the UC Santa Barbara-administered reserve, it will house an education center, seed bank and native plant herbarium, and a […]
Observing Starshine over Sedgwick Reserve
A brand-new telescope at the NRS’s Sedgwick Reserve is giving astronomers front row seats to some of the most spectacular events in the night sky. Learn more about it courtesy of the cover story in UC Santa Barbara Today. Looking Up: First Observatory at a UC Natural Reserve The sign on the door of the […]