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 May 2018 newsletter includes updates on snowy plovers and other birds using the habitat, as well as bridge installation. The feature story focuses on invasive plant control, which allows native plants to thrive and provides restoration experience for students. Community photos include Western Snowy Plovers (Charadrius nivosus), White-Faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi), Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), and a juvenile Pacific Chorus Frog (Pseudacris regilla).