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 April 2018 newsletter marks the first anniversary of the grant-funded restoration project and includes updates on spring wildflowers, bridge and boardwalk construction, planting progress, and weed control by solarization. The feature story focuses on the performance of the hydrology improvements with recent rainfall, which was in line with predictions and avoided flooding in the surrounding neighborhood. Community photos include American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana), Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera), and Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus).