North Campus Open Space

Aerial image of the NCOS site on September 19, courtesy of Bill Dewey.

 

Project Updates

There's been a plethora of planting, and there's much, much more to do! To date, we have planted 14,250 locally sourced and raised individuals of 22 species at NCOS - and that's just a drop in the bucket! We are grateful for the help of volunteers from the local community, including business and school groups that have participated in our recent planting opportunities. Here are some numbers of plants installed by our first volunteer groups in September:

• Second Saturday on September 9 - 735 plants
• Kollmorgen volunteer group on September 21 - 395 plants

We welcome any local school, work or other community group to come help us plant and take a tour of NCOS. See the Volunteer Opportunities section of this newsletter for more information.

 

  The three photos above are from one of our first group volunteer days. Thanks again Kollmorgen corporation!

 

Local community members and CCBER staff at the first "Second Saturday" planting at NCOS on September 9^th.  

 

Construction Updates

• The grading portion of the project is all but complete, and the contractor will be leaving the site in mid-October. The contractor that will build the bridges and finish the trails will start soon afterwards.

• The installation of habitat features is nearly complete, and hydroseeding of the hillside is planned for mid-October.

• The irrigation we've been installing on site is temporary and will be removed after the first year or two, once native plants have become established.

High quality water for your home, and for bird habitat at NCOS!

A Solitary sandpiper (left) and Greater yellowlegs foraging in the main channel of NCOS (photo by David Levasheff).

Water has been filling the main channels of the NCOS restoration site over the past month. It is a pleasant sight on the newly graded landscape, and birds are already flocking to the water to feed, drink and bathe! So what’s the story behind this water? Read all about it here.

 

Volunteer Opportunities

Second Saturdays - Planting at NCOS

Second Saturday planting days are getting into full swing! Come help us plant natives at NCOS on Saturday October 14, 9:30 – Noon! Bring water and wear a hat and good shoes! Please RSVP to ncos@ccber.ucsb.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Volunteer Opportunities 

We gladly welcome local business, non-profit, school and other community groups to come out to NCOS to help with planting and other activities. For more information, please send an email to ncos@ccber.ucsb.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursdays - CCBER Greenhouse Associates

Come help transplant seedlings of native plants with the CCBER team from 9am - 12noon. To join, please send an email to ncos@ccber.ucsb.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community Photos

Have a plant, wildlife, or other photo of the project site you'd like to share? We welcome submissions of photos of the project site and/or the adjacent Ellwood-Devereux area to share with NCOS News readers. Please email a photo you would like to share along with a brief description to ncos@ccber.ucsb.edu.

This month, we're excited to present some fantastic photos of wildlife at NCOS that were expertly captured and graciously shared with us by David Levasheff. Below are a photo of a Tropical Kingbird and a Blue-eyed Darner dragonfly. Check out this month's Feature Story for more of David's photos of birds at NCOS!

 

Tropical Kingbird (photo by David Levasheff)

 

Blue Eyed Darner (photo by David Levasheff)