Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration

The Cheadle Center at UCSB manages the North Campus Open Space (NCOS), which is a project that has restored 136 acres of upland and wetland habitats that existed before the area was converted into the Ocean Meadows Golf Course in the 1960s. The NCOS restoration project began in 2017 with a fine-scale grading of the site in order to recreate the salt marsh and use the excavated soil to rebuild the upland habitats to the southwest, which are now called the NCOS Mesa. In addition to re-establishing native biodiversity, a key goal of the restoration is to utilize the site as an educational, scientific, and recreational resource. This archived version of the September 2021 newsletter includes updates on Phelps Creek dredging, evidence of tarplant hybridization, and public educational programs. The feature story focuses on pre-K field trips through the Kids in Nature program. Community photos include Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus), Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), and Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis).