UC Santa Barbara Celebrates the UCSB and UC Natural Reserve Systems

The full day of presentations and poster sessions was sponsored by the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, and featured speakers intimate with the thousands of acres that serve as outdoor classrooms and laboratories.

“We’re here to serve California. The main goals are to enhance teaching, research and public service of our natural lands, to support the economy and the ecosystem of the State of California by doing this work at these sites,” said Patricia Holden, director of the UCSB Natural Reserve System (NRS) and a Bren School professor.

The UC Natural Reserve System is a network of 38 wildland sites that span over 750,000 acres across the state, from forests to deserts, mountains to coastlines. It is the world’s largest university-operated system of natural reserves, administered by nine of the 10 UC campuses.

UC Santa Barbara administers seven reserves — the most of any of the UC campuses — ranging from the nearby Coal Oil Point on the coast just off campus to the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL) in eastern California.

To view the complete story click here.