The UC Natural Reserve System welcomes a new member to its family. This spring, the NRS entered into a sister reserve relationship with the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre in Namibia. The five-year arrangement aims to foster cooperative research into climate change and the ecosystems of arid lands in California and southern Africa. A network […]
White Mountain Research Center
NRS on Open Road TV
The scenic and scientific glories of the NRS will grace TV airwaves next Sunday, July 24, on an episode of Open Road with Doug McConnell. The longtime Bay Area television host takes viewers on journeys to explore the natural, historical and cultural treasures of the Bay Area and California. The show focuses on parks and open spaces protected […]
Glen MacDonald leads White Mountain Research Center
White Mountain Research Center welcomed a new director this spring. Glen MacDonald is a UC Los Angeles Distinguished Professor, holds the John Muir Memorial Chair in Geography, is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. MacDonald takes over for Antony Orme, UC Los Angeles […]
Nonstop nature: the NRS field course
It looked more like the rituals of a secret society than science. Stepping high over gray-green clumps of sagebrush, the gaggle of five pulled a tangle of climbing rope taut to form a square with three columns. After lowering the corners carefully over their selected area, the sun-hatted university students began pawing the foliage in […]
NRS Fair marks 50th anniversary
The Natural Reserve System brought a taste of the science, art, teaching, and natural wonders of its 39 reserves to the heart of downtown Oakland this Tuesday, August 11, for the NRS Fair. Hundreds of visitors flocked to the outdoor terrace at UC’s Office of the President to attend. They chatted with graduate student researchers, […]
Bringing field ecology online
If outdoor learning were a religion, Erika Zavaleta would be among its foremost acolytes. A professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz, Zavaleta regularly leads ecology students into the wilds of California, immersing them in the field for weeks at a time. So when the University of California joined the rush to develop online […]
Tracking climate change atop White Mountain
By Jim Bishop and Connie Millar A group of determined investigators trudge upward above the last of the bristlecone pines, climbing toward a summit that will be their workplace for the day. Cold wind urges them to close zippers and turn up collars. At their feet are hardy and beautiful alpine plants, living in a […]
Beyond the White Mountains
by Antony Orme, White Mountain Research Center faculty director, geography professor emeritus UCLA As its name suggests, the White Mountain Research Center (WMRC) hosts many studies in the inspiring White Mountains extending north from Westgard Pass, and maintains stations at Crooked Creek, Barcroft and White Mountain Peak to support these activities. As most visitors know, […]