Herbarium Collection on NCOS
Over the past six months, staff and interns have collected over 140 plant specimens from NCOS in an effort to catalog the wide range of plant diversity on the project; everything from invasive non-natives such as bristly oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides) to our rare or endangered natives such as Ventura marsh milk vetch (Astragalus pycnostachyus var. lanosissimus). Read more here!
Environmental DNA: Assessing this new technology for documenting biodiversity
EDNA is a method of extracting and identifying fragments of DNA from sources that might otherwise be very time consuming to sample. The Cheadle Center is now getting results from an eDNA assessment funded by Steve Senesac and the Associated Students Coastal Fund designed to assess how valuable this tool might be for understanding biodiversity at North Campus Open Space. Read more here!
Breeding Birds at NCOS
One of the main goals of the North Campus Open Space project is to provide habitat for a wide variety of bird species. During the spring and summer months, the value of the habitat on NCOS can be assessed by observing birds that are using the restoration site as their breeding grounds. Which species do you think nest at NCOS? Find out more here!
Mesa Trail is Open!
The Cheadle Center is proud to announce the opening of the Mesa Trail at the North Campus Open Space! The trail was officially opened and celebrated on May 14th with a public event showcasing the history and biodiversity of the land. Visitors were invited to take part in a Mesa Trail scavenger hunt that led them along the new trail to various tables where Cheadle Center staff set up posters and displays offering information on the Mesa's past and present. These tables helped inform visitors on a range of subjects pertaining to the Mesa habitat, including its Ethnobotany, Ornithology, Hydrology, Entomology, and Botany. Click here for the full story!
Student Perspectives on NCOS
Student workers are an essential component of the NCOS restoration process and have been the bedrock of planting and weeding efforts since the beginning of the project. Through these intensive efforts they have gained great understanding of the ecological restoration in an impressively short time span. We’ve interviewed four student workers to see how their work at NCOS has increased their awareness of the key successes of NCOS and the remaining challenges. Read more here!
You're Invited! Mesa Trail Opening 2022
Your Local Wetland At Work
North Campus Open Space not only provides a safe space to walk, bike, run, and enjoy nature, the wetland is also working to improve water quality. In the realm of biogeochemistry, wetlands are considered a “sink,” or a location in which these nutrients are removed from the water by natural processes. Click here to learn more.
Restoring Increasingly Rare Wildflowers to Campus Lands
One of CCBER’s goals has been to seek out wild populations of increasingly rare wildflowers and then nurture small populations in order to build up seed to then expand the populations under more ideal conditions. Click here to learn more.
Aquatic Macroinvertebrate and Water Quality Intern Program at NCOS
This summer Sharon Metsch’s Field Lab at North Campus Open Space (NCOS) was put to good use as the new location for our aquatic macroinvertebrate and zooplankton monitoring and identification project. Students enjoy the beauty of the wetland while also gaining meaningful hands-on scientific experience in aquatic macroinvertebrate and zooplankton collection methods, invertebrate identification, scientific inquiry, and project management. Click here to learn more!
Winter Break Storms at NCOS
Recent storms over the Winter break have once again illustrated how the increased wetland capacity of the restored system at NCOS provides flood protection and increases the tidal prism which expands and diversifies the wetland. Click here for more on the storms!
