On September 19th, in perfect harmony with the equinox, the Autumn Equinox Cruise to Santa Rosa unfolded into an adventure brimming with discovery and delight. The day began with a serene crossing of the channel, where we were greeted by pods of playful dolphins and a symphony of sea birds. The day granted us spectacular views of Santa Cruz Island's rugged beauty. Often known for its choppy waters, the stretch between Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa was uncharacteristically calm, setting the perfect stage for our island exploration.
Given the spectacular beauty of West Mesa, it is difficult to imagine that just four years ago it was scheduled for development, with bulldozers set to begin carving out the roadways and site pads in early 2021. It didn’t happen that day because of a brave group of concerned community members who placed their bodies in front of the bulldozers in protest.
This year, Channel Islands Restoration (CIR) has increased our capacity for conservation along the Central Coast! Our field operations team has nearly doubled to accommodate habitat restoration work in Santa Barbara, Santa Paula, Malibu, Thousand Oaks, the Gaviota Coast, and the Channel Islands, to name a few of our project sites.
We are incredibly grateful for your philanthropic support that has made it possible for us to provide educational opportunities for children and adults. Your support, large or small, is also critical to the continued ecological improvements being made for our local wetlands, grasslands, and woodlands throughout the Coast.
Become a sustaining member of $10 a month or higher to receive a new San Marcos Foothills Preserve T-Shirt! This beautiful design includes some of our favorite Foothill's aves, including the Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), and the Western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)!
On one side of a path in the idyllic hills of Santa Barbara, a dense clump of dried out mustard rises more than six feet. Meanwhile, just across the way, the invasive plant is thinned to wisps.
Carolyn Chaney, 77, pointed out the difference in vegetation and also provided the reason: sheep.
“This is where they’ve been,” she said, pointing to the cleared patch of land.
Chaney would know. She’s a regular sheep docent at the 300-acre San Marcos Foothills Preserve, owned by Santa Barbara County and located between Santa Barbara and Goleta.
Our backcountry trips into the Los Padres National Forest are underway! The objective of these trips is to restore and maintain habitat for riparian dependent species such as the federally listed arroyo toad, California red-legged frog and steelhead trout.
We need volunteers starting on Tuesday, September 26th - November 6th to help us communicate information about the sheep and the grazing project to any curious hikers. No previous experience is required and we will provide information regarding frequently asked questions.
A tremendous thank you to everyone you could join us for our trip to Santa Rosa Island last week and we hope you enjoyed the event. It was wonderful to see everyone together again on the Channel Islands. A big thank you to our extraordinary guides and sweeps for providing insight and knowledge throughout the entire day!
Channel Islands Restoration and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden are working together to conduct native plantings at Elings Park. The purpose of this project is to analyze how pollinators interact with locally native plant species compared to plants native in other parts of California. Part restoration part research, we need volunteers to assist with tarping, mulching, cage building, and cardboard collection for the project to beautify and enhance the park.
Channel Islands Restoration is excited to bring you a trip to the beautiful and remote Santa Rosa Island, where you will enjoy spectacular views, great company, and ample time to enjoy island life among friends.
Learn about island history, geology, and ecology among peers and like-minded environmental enthusiasts! Join us in exploring sandy white beaches, visiting the rare Torrey Pines, hiking the breathtaking Cherry Canyon, and much more. We're looking forward to having you join our island adventure!
Join Rare Plant Ecologist, Kevin Alison, as he discusses an advanced method of propagating plants to conserve rare, endangered, and difficult-to-grow plants. When all traditional forms of propagation fail, Kevin at the Catalina Island Conservancy utilized micropropagation (also known as Plant Tissue Culture) to grow rare plants in test tubes.
Learn how CIR's restoration work is helping to restore our community's natural habitats and creating a more sustainable Central Coast this year.
Being part of the World Oceans Day 2023 festival was an absolute honor. The Sea Center welcome Channel Islands Restoration and other community partners to make the event a success. From the moment we set up our booth, there was a sea of smiling faces eager to engage with our activities.
Carol Gravelle, a long-time volunteer for CIR and a fairly new member of our Board said to me recently, “I’m an island gal, but what you showed us from your desert trip looks amazing!” Maybe only a few of you attended CIR’s annual trips to Death Valley National Park and other locations in the Mojave Desert. Over the course of more than a decade, botanist Steve Junak and geologist Tanya Atwater took us to dozens of amazing desert locales, on trips that sold out just about every year.
Some may remember how the 2023 rainy season began. A few gentle rains in October and November and by News Years we had a nice manageable germination of weeds happening across all our project sites. Conditions were very favorable, and we assumed we would be starting early on many of our projects.
On February 28th, Channel Islands Restoration (CIR) staff gathered at Fillmore City Hall for professional development and knowledge sharing. The workshop aimed to provide field techs with some bilingual skills and riparian knowledge, supporting effective communication between crews in the field and enhancing their understanding of restoration work and related topics such as ecology and natural resource protection.
I’ve been immersed in the biophysical environment, both recreationally and through stewardship, my entire life. Growing up in Boise, Idaho, I spent nearly every weekend camping, hiking, rafting, and skiing while also volunteering in restoration and environmental NGOs.
We’re all rightfully concerned about climate change and global warming, and most of us are taking actions on a daily basis to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in our lives; actions like driving less and moving towards electrification of our lives with the electricity generated by renewable sources like wind and solar.
During Matching May, Channel Islands Restoration is giving back to the environment and making an impact to help restore local habitats damaged during the recent rainy season. As you may remember, 2022 started with gentle rains in October and November. Then unexpected events, including storms, rivers shifting, and landslides, severely affected the landscape of the Central Coast.
