Join us in restoring UCSB campus natural areas for local plants and wildlife through an internship with CCBER. Classes are currently offered during the Fall, Winter and Spring quarters. Students will gain valuable hands-on field experience restoring native wetland, coastal sage scrub, grassland, and oak woodland habitats. Learn about local plants and animals, earn course credit, meet environmental professionals in your community, and enjoy a beautiful outdoor working environment!
Each week throughout the quarter will focus on a specific restoration theme. Students will have the opportunity to visit multiple restoration sites, gain hands-on experience and learn from all the CCBER staff throughout the quarter. Listed below are the typical topics, schedule, and meeting locations.
Course Requirements
The Ecological Restoration Field Skills Course is open to all academic levels and majors. Add codes from the instructor are required.
All students must complete the following for 1 unit of credit:
- 3 hours of field work/week
- Compile a restoration journal throughout the quarter
What you will need
- Closed toed shoes
- Clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
- Sunscreen/hat/water
For those who are enrolled in the class, please visit GauchoSpace for the course syllabus and updates: https://gauchospace.ucsb.edu/
CCBER has multiple internship and volunteer opportunities. We offer this formal restoration course approved for credit with UCSB.
Schedule
| Week | Topic | Location |
| Week 1 | Orientation/Collections Tour |
CCBER Library - Harder South
|
| Week 2 | Research/Project Design | Parking Lot 5 |
| Week 3 | Regional Ethnobotany/History | CCBER Greenhouse |
| Week 4 | Site Preparation/Planning | North Campus Open Space |
| Week 5 | Plant ID/Sourcing | CCBER Library - Harder South |
| Week 6 | Plant Propagation | CCBER Greenhouse |
| Week 7 | Small Scale Strategies | West Depression |
| Week 8 | Wildlife Monitoring/Bird ID | Devereux Bridge |
| Week 9 | Site Management/Monitoring | Manzanita Village |
| Week 10 | Restoration Field Day | CCBER Restoration Project Site |
Directions to Meeting Locations:
North Campus Open Space: From Main Campus, take El Colegio Rd towards Storke Rd. Make a right on Storke Road. Turn left on Phelps Road. Continue until Phelps dead ends. Meet at the intersection of Phelps Road and Cannon Green Drive.
Greenhouse: From Harder Stadium take the maintenance road on the north end of Lot 38. Make a right on the 2nd dirt road and continue passed the Community Gardens greenhouse. Meet at the end of the road.
South Parcel: From Main Campus, take El Colegio Rd towards Storke Rd. Make a right on Storke Road. Make a left onto Venoco Rd (open white gate) after the Family Student Housing. Follow the road until you reach a black gate. Meet at the bridge that is passed the gate.
San Clemente: Meet at the western end of Parking Lot 38 by the trail
References and Resources
- An introduction to using native plants in restoration projects
- Society for Ecological Restoration
- CalPhotos
- The Jepson Manual of Higher California Plants (Hickman)- Key to all plants of California
- A Flora of the Santa Barbara Region (Clif Smith) - Guide to the plants of Santa Barbara
For More Information
Please contact the Intern and Volunteer Coordinator, Andy Lanes (lanes@ccber.ucsb.edu) to find out more information.
Departmental Contacts
|
Department |
Advisor |
|
|---|---|---|
|
CCS |
Leslie Campbell |
|
|
EEMB |
Mike Tucker |
|
|
ES |
Eric Zimmerman |
|
|
GEOG |
Kathy Davis |