Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER)

We are very happy to have TWELVE of our undergrads present their research at the URCA (Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities) Symposium last week!

Research Presentations Included:
- California Streamside Biosurvey of Phelps Creek, Tributary to Devereux Slough by Fiorella Beck
- Monitoring Invasion of New Zealand Mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) in North Campus Open Space by Jon Seawards
- Systematics of California’s critically endangered Nipomo lupine (Lupinus nipomensis) by Lily Strange
- Santa Barbara County Marine Sponges: Curation and Digitization by Alma Love
- Using Micro-Computed Tomography to Study Larval Development in a Ground-Nesting Solitary Bee by Bonn von Thiele
- Temperature-dependent variation in flight muscle morphology revealed by micro-CT imaging by Ipek Yilmaz
- Santa Cruz Island Salamanders: comparing habitats and fungal infection of sympatric endemics by Kai Labson and Emma
- Diets of Burrowing Owls (Athene Cunicularia) In a Coastal Southern California Preserve by Jessica De Castro
- Assessing Public Opinions and Perceptions of Aquatic Invertebrates in Devereux Slough by Sequoia Marx
- Restoration Impact on Avian Biodiversity by Matthew Vinh
- Visualizing Waterbird-Aquatic Invertebrate Linkages in a Restoring Coastal Wetland by Emilio Ojemann
- Trophic Interactions Between Birds and Aquatic Prey at North Campus Open Space by Gabriella Morales

We’re very proud of our undergraduate researchers, and look forward to the incredible science they will pursue in their careers!

Please join us for the restoration of the Ellwood Marine Terminal site for public use.

This involves removing the facility’s tanks, pipes, and associated buildings and screening trees to provide 360-degree ocean and mountain views. The restoration vision includes rebuilding the historic high point that was leveled when tanks were installed in 1929 and restoring a variety of native grasses, wetlands, scrub, woodland, and coastal dune habitats.

We will be hosting our first major planting event at the Ellwood Marine Terminal Restoration Site as part of our Second Saturday Volunteer Day. Join the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration for a hands-on opportunity to help restore this unique coastal landscape by planting native oaks and coastal sage scrub, exploring the site on a guided tour, and learning about ongoing restoration efforts and future plans. Whether you’re looking to get involved, learn more about local ecology, or simply spend a morning outdoors, this event is a great way to connect with the land and contribute to its recovery.

Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026
Time: 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM (arrive by 9:00 AM if parking in the NCOS lot for the guided walk)
Location: Ellwood Marine Terminal Restoration Site, Goleta
Admission: Free (Please RSVP)

If walking, please meet directly at the site at 9:30 AM. If driving, park at the NCOS lot and arrive by 9:00 AM for a guided walk to the site. Please bring water and sun protection.

RSVP / Contact: [email protected]

Friendly reminder we have ONE more day until Spring 2026’s GIVE DAY! Scan the code at the end of the reel to donate to the Cheadle Center’s Give Day page! You can also find it in our bio, or at ccber.ucsb.edu

Give Day is a 36 hour fundraising event in which you can help shape the future of this research center, through giving to the various areas we need funding to bring to the community! These areas include:

Restoration projects — such as the grazing of native purple needlegrass. We protect and preserve important species and habitats through restoration initiatives like North Campus Open Space, which provides public access to hundreds of daily visitors, educational programming for both campus and the broader K-12 communities!

UCSB’s Natural History Collections — biodiversity libraries that preserve organisms and information about creatures and their lives! These records provide researchers a glimpse of our past so that we can better understand the effects of things like climate change, invasive species, and human impact on the environment.

The award-winning Kids in Nature program — Kids in Nature trains the next generation of environmental educators who, in turn, introduce hundreds of local elementary students to the natural world through hands-on outdoor experiences.

This is the time for you to show your support for the Cheadle Center!

Your philanthropic investment in the UC Santa Barbara Cheadle Center will create opportunities for research and education for current and future generations through the stewardship and restoration of our remarkable natural environment!

We’re back with another collections tour! This time our dear undergrad researcher .bacteria gives us a tour of the vertebrate collections room! 🐺🦫🐾

Vertebrates include a wide range of animals, from mammals to birds to pretty much anything with a spine 🩻

The species shown here are just a taste of what we have in our massive collection (over 32,000!) and they have a very important role in the study of the vertebrates along the California coast! 🌅

We can’t wait to show you our insect and herpetology collections rooms next time! If you’re interested in working with these species, apply for a position as an undergraduate researcher on our website!

Special thanks to the Coastal Fund for making this social media work possible!

Follow along with undergrad researcher as she tours the Cheadle Center Herbarium! This air-controlled archive houses nearly 250,000 plant specimens!! 🌿

Many of these specimens have been digitized as part of an ongoing process to make plant records more available. The collection includes vascular plants 🪴 macroalgae 🪸 and botanical anatomy 🍄‍🟫!!

To get involved in this collection, or any collections at the Cheadle Center, go to ccber.ucsb.edu (or the linktree in our bio) and apply for the Museum and Curation internship! Also consider giving to the Cheadle Center (also in the linktree).

We hope you enjoyed this tour, and stay tuned for more 👀👀