Current Projects and Goals

Current Projects and Goals is regularly published about once a quarter. Its purpose is to communicate to our membership about important issues that the board of directors and committee members are involved with.

Projects and Goals March 2022

SBAS is actively working on many projects related to our three main focus areas: conservation and science, recently combined into a single committee, and education.  This column will be updated regularly with an overview of selected current projects and goals (project list is not all-inclusive).  The goals summarize what each SBAS committee is working toward with occasional opportunities for member involvement.

From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director

Current Projects

Goals

Education
  • Celebrating Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb. 18-21
  • Providing SBAS outreach at local retirement communities. (Contact Dotti Pak.)
  • Bringing Eyes in the Sky raptor ambassadors at local schools (Contact Hannah Atkinson.)
  • Collaborating with Goleta Coast Audubon (UCSB Campus Chapter)
  • Presenting monthly Evening Programs via Zoom.  Recorded programs are available here: https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/additional-resources/videos/
 
  • Host our 8th 2022 Winter Bird Count 4 Kids event.
  • Celebrate new “Bird Month” collaboration with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in May
  • Create new SBAS outreach film to increase awareness about the importance of birds at Lake Los Carneros (LLC), promote the need to protect this open space for birds and other species, and empower environmental stewardship
  • Teach Meet Your Wild Neighbor curriculum to local kindergarten through 3rd grade classrooms
  • Participate in the SB County Science Fair and present SBAS Joy Parkinson Award to local student
Conservation/Science
  • Meeting with agency decision-makers, providing public comments, and authoring conservation letters to promote bird, habitat, and biodiversity protections
  • Using science to advocate for bird and habitat protections for Goleta creeks and watersheds and proposed wind turbine energy projects offshore of the Central Coast
  • Increasing Breeding Bird Study records for 7th year
  • Assisting UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration as they now process SBAS aquatic invertebrate data for Coal Oil Point Reserve and North Campus Open Space to understand and evaluate ecosystem health important to birdlife
 
  • In collaboration with SB County Parks create new educational signage at Nojoqui Falls Park featuring information about the Purple Martin population that breeds in and around the Park
  • Continue to build advocacy to protect local open spaces, wetlands, bird habitats, and ecosystems
  • Outreach to key departments within the City of Goleta, City of Santa Barbara, and SB County to advocate for bird and bird habitat protections
  • Looking for a SBAS member and volunteer who would like to burrow into the worlds of Nest Box monitoring of breeding Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds at LLC.  This will be our 13th year of Nest Box monitoring. (Contact Steve Senesac via the Contact Us link)

Projects and Goals December 2021

SBAS is actively working on many projects related to our three main focus areas: conservation and science, recently combined into a single committee, and education.  This column will be updated regularly with an overview of selected current projects and goals (project list is not all-inclusive).  The goals summarize what each SBAS committee is working toward with occasional opportunities for member involvement.

From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director

Current Projects

Goals

Education
 
  • Teach newly tailored Meet Your Wild Neighbor curriculum to local kindergarten through 3rd grade classrooms.
  • Bring birds and habitat lessons to older students.
  • Provide 2022 Winter Bird Count 4 Kids event.
  • Continue collaboration with Goleta Coast Audubon (UCSB Campus Chapter).
Conservation/Science
  • Meeting with agency decision-makers, providing public comments, and authoring conservation letters to promote bird, habitat, and biodiversity protections.
  • Using science to advocate for bird and habitat protections for Goleta creeks and watersheds and proposed wind turbine energy projects offshore of the Central Coast.
  • Increasing Breeding Bird Study records.
  • Collaborating with UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration to process aquatic invertebrate data for Coal Oil Point Reserve and North Campus Open Space to understand and evaluate ecosystem health.
 
  • Continue to build advocacy to protect local open spaces, wetlands, bird habitats, and ecosystems. (e.g., protecting White-tailed Kites and the health of open spaces they rely on).
  • Outreach to key departments within the City of Goleta, City of Santa Barbara, and SB County to advocate for bird and bird habitat protections.
  • Continue reminding home owners and agencies that tree-trimming should occur during months ending in “BER” to avoid nesting season.  Trim in September, October, November and December.
  • Continue to monitor SB County’s only population of Purple Martins.
  • Continue to work with Goleta Coast Audubon to analyze the 12th year of Nest Box monitoring data of breeding Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds at Lake Los Carneros (LLC).

Projects and Goals September 2021

SBAS is actively working on many projects related to our three main focus areas: education, conservation, and science.  This column is updated regularly with an overview of selected current projects and goals (project list is not all-inclusive).  Likewise, the goals summarize what each SBAS committee is working towards with occasional opportunities for member involvement.

From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director

Current Projects

Goals

Education
  • Continuing to provide programs at local retirement
    communities. (Contact Dotti Pak to set up.)
  • Presenting Eyes in the Sky raptor ambassadors in person at Cachuma Lake, El Capitan State Beach and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
  • Preparing fall monthly Evening Programs.
  • Sharing 3rd fun new SBAS video How to Start Birding.
    https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/videos/
 
  • Teach updated SBAS Meet Your Wild Neighbor curriculum in local classrooms over 2021-2022 school year. (Reached 12 lower elementary classrooms last year!)
  • Provide bird and habitat lessons to older students. (6 upper elementary and high school classrooms visited last year!)
  • Further outreach to local retirement communities and the Santa Barbara Braille Institute. (Provided 5 events last year!)
  • Organize 2022 Winter Bird Count 4 Kids event.
  • Continue working with Goleta Coast Audubon chapter to bring young people into active participation on behalf of birds.
Conservation
  • Meeting with agency decision-makers, providing public comments, and authoring local conservation letters to promote bird, habitat, and biodiversity protections. (e.g., Heritage Ridge project, Goleta LED Street Lighting Plan, letters of support for other environmental nonprofits)
  • Using science to advocate for bird and habitat protections for Goleta creeks and watersheds and City of Santa Barbara Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
  • Extending reach of information and photos about the 10,300 records in the Breeding Bird Study.
  • Monitoring SB County’s only population of Purple Martins.
  • Working together with Goleta Coast Audubon to conduct the 12th year of Nest Box monitoring of breeding Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds at Lake Los Carneros (LLC).
  • Processing aquatic invertebrate data for Coal Oil Point Reserve and North Campus Open Space to provide quantitative data in support of understanding and evaluating ecosystem health.
 
  • Continue to build advocacy to protect local open spaces, wetlands, bird habitats, and ecosystems. (e.g., protecting White-tailed Kites and the health of open spaces they rely on)
  • Outreach to key departments within the City of Goleta, City of Santa Barbara, and SB County to advocate for bird and bird habitat protections.
  • Research proposed wind turbine energy projects offshore of the Central Coast.
  • Remind home owners and agencies that tree-trimming should occur during months ending in the letter “R” to avoid nesting season.  Trim in September, October, November and December.
  • Collect and analyze 2021 breeding data for Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds at 22 Nest Boxes at LLC. 
  • Complete transfer of invertebrate data program to UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, and analysis of 2019 data.

Projects and Goals June 2021

SBAS is actively working on many projects related to our three main focus areas: education, conservation, and science.  This column is updated regularly with an overview of selected current projects and goals (project list is not all-inclusive).  Likewise, the goals summarize what each SBAS committee is working towards with occasional opportunities for member involvement.

From the desk of Katherine Emery, Executive Director

Current Projects

Goals

Education
  • Providing SBAS Zoom outreach programs at local retirement
    communities. (Contact Dotti Pak to set up.)
  • Presenting Eyes in the Sky raptor ambassadors to schools
    and other groups. (Contact Hannah Atkinson.)
  • Presenting monthly Evening Programs via Zoom.
  • Sharing new SBAS video Why are Birds Important? at Santa
    Barbara Earth Day festival and beyond.
    https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/videos/
 
  • Complete school year teaching of Meet Your Wild Neighbor
    curriculum at 12 local 1st-3rd grade classrooms.
  • Evaluate our new “pandemic style” 2021 Winter Bird Count 4
    Kids event and brainstorm 2022 event.
  • Reintroduce in-person raptor outreach at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
  • Continue work with UCSB Goleta Coast Audubon.
Conservation
  • Meeting with agency decision-makers, providing public comments, and authoring local conservation letters to promote bird, habitat, and biodiversity protections. (e.g., work
    plan for the City of Goleta’s Public Works Department, Baron
    Ranch Master Plan, letters of support for other environmental
    nonprofits).
  • Using science to inform decision making for bird protections and habitat for Goleta creeks and watersheds and City of Santa Barbara Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
  • Running the Breeding Bird Study (BBS) for its 6th year;
    gather, edit, and curate the 9300 BBS records & continue
    promoting breeding data as a tool to inform land management
    and resource planning.
 
  • Build advocacy to protect local open spaces, wetlands, bird habitats, and ecosystems.
  • Outreach to key departments within the City of Goleta, City
    of Santa Barbara, and SB County to advocate for bird and
    bird habitat protections.
  • Continue support for saving San Marcos Foothills.
Science
  • Working together with Goleta Coast Audubon to conduct
    the 12th year of Nest Box monitoring of breeding Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds at Lake Los Carneros (LLC).
  • Processing aquatic invertebrate data for Coal Oil Point Reserve and North Campus Open Space to provide quantitative data in support of understanding and evaluating ecosystem health.
 
  • Collect breeding data for Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds at 22 Nest Boxes at LLC.
  • Research proposed off-shore wind turbine energy projects off the coast of Santa Barbara County.