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TABLE OF CONTENTS


Narrative report

Use by instructional groups

Current research

Research reports

Publications

Use data and user’s affiliations

K-12 User

Personnel


 

NARRATIVE OVERVIEW 2003-2004

If there were a theme for the UCLA Stunt Ranch Reserve’s prior year it would be the age old axiom, “the only constant is change.” How and why? In most arenas, great and small.
 
One significant way was in the name change of the Department of Organismic Biology Ecology and Evolution (OBEE), in which the Reserve has a home, to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB). The Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountain Reserve shares the stated mission of EEB, “to provide new knowledge of the ecological and evolutionary processes that produce and sustain life on Earth.” 
 
Last year, a major focus of the Reserve was on biodiversity and conservation in the five Mediterranean-climate regions of the world and particularly in the Santa Monica Mountains.  Dr. Phil Rundel, the Reserve’s faculty director, has devoted much of his time in helping people to understand that while the Mediterranean-climate regions comprise only about 2% of the earth’s land area they account for 16% of the world’s plant species. Twenty five ecological hotspots, areas of irreplaceable biodiversity whose protection is of critical global importance, have been identified worldwide. These designations are based on a large and unique diversity of organisms occurring nowhere else and on the extreme threat to these regions from human activities. While most of these hotspots lie in tropical forest regions of the world, each of the five Mediterranean-climate regions is on this select list.
 
Dr. Rundel, the Reserve’s faculty advisors, and the Reserve have initiated and continued to work with government agencies and international NGOs to promote a better public understanding of the global significance of mediterranean-climate ecosystems and their biodiversity.  More than a thousand educational posters designed and published by Stunt Ranch on the mediterraean-climate regions have now been distributed broadly to educational groups and schools in Southern California, and all over the world to a variety of universities, government agencies, and NGO’s (non-government organizations)
 
For a brief explanation of the Reserve’s other interests and projects from the year gone by, please see the notations below.
 

RECONSTRUCTION OF EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES:

Because of challenging septic code issues, the Reserve made the decision this year to delete the residence from its reconstruction project. Plans are continuing for the reconstruction of a nature center/classroom and workroom/storage area.  With a little bit of good luck and a lot of behind the scenes work, construction is expected to move forward this coming year.

EDUCATION AND NATURE CENTER PROTOTYPE DISPLAY: This past year’s display, Where the Wild Things Are: Plants and Animals in the Santa Monica Mountains, served as a successful educational resource for students, faculty, staff, and visitors in the bustling Life Science Building lobby.  Subjects have included photos of a velvet ant, stink beetle, kingsnake, coyote, deermouse, horned lizard, kestrel, California newt, California quail, bobcat, Humbolt lily, shooting star, and manzanita. A custom designed map of the vegetation zones of the Santa Monica Mountains was produced. Taxidermied specimens of a badger, sharp-skinned hawk, and great horned owl are on loan from the National Park Service.

Plans are underway for the next few prototype displays. The first will feature, Drawing from Nature, the science and art lessons for kids published regularly in the Los Angeles times Kids Reading Room Page (see below). The next will focus on the Chumash Native American’s interaction with their environment

CENTER FOR EMBEDDED NETWORKED SENSING (CENS) AT UCLA AND NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY NETWORK (NEON):

LOS ANGELES TIMES - DRAWING FROM NATURE SERIES:

The Reserve continues to contribute to the Los Angeles Times Reading by Nine literacy program. The Reserve’s Director of Education and Community Outreach, Carol Felixson, established and has had the privilege of writing and photographing the feature, “Drawing from Nature,” published monthly in the Times Kids’ Reading Room page. She writes about the plants and animals found at Stunt Ranch and the UCLA Botanical Garden. Anne Burke wrote in UCLA Magazine’s Summer 2004 issue, that she “teaches children how to make fun pictures with easy-to-follow instructions and low-cost materials. She has a kid-friendly writing style that makes the lessons easy to digest.” Illustrations by children between the ages of 5-12 are unique to the articles. Plans are underway in 2005-2006 to expand the series to in-class activities and displays in other kid science/art venues.

The past year’s topics included:

To read the articles, see the art and photos of the kids please visit the Reserve’s News for Kids website at http://nrs.ucop.edu/Reserves/stunt/newsforkids.html

OTHER:

The Reserve believes in the importance of the community and the University interacting and collaborating with each other for a shared greater good.  And as part of its mission to contribute to the understanding and wise management of the earth and its natural systems, the Reserve regularly reaches out to university, local community, and broader groups.

Toward that end, over the past year, Reserve staff and advisors have attended and/or had involvement with

The following committees and organizations:

And the following projects and activities: 

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RESERVE INSTRUCTION:

RESERVE RESEARCH PROJECTS:

The following research projects took place on, or in the surrounding vicinity, of the Stunt Ranch Reserve during 2003-2004.

K-12 ACTIVITIES:

The reserve is honored to be one of several environmental programs highlighted in the  UCLA in LA: Partnerships for a Greater Los Angeles 2005 Directory.  One of the Reserve’s successful partnerships is with the Cold Creek Docents, a division of the Mountains Restoration Trust, who coordinate the K-12 program at the Stunt Ranch Reserve. The Reserve and the Cold Creek Docents together are dedicated to making contributions to the education and training of the next generation of scientists and informed citizens who realize the importance of informed management of biological systems in sustaining human culture. This awareness is best created at an early age and continued over a lifetime.

Nancy Helsley, President of the Cold Creek Docents, says, “it is a beneficial purpose that both the University and the Docents serve, not only in education, but as stewards of the land and watershed.” The Reserve and the Cold Creek Docents work together for a wide variety of educational uses related to the natural history of chaparral and oak woodland ecosystems and the history of the Chumash people in the Santa Monica Mountains.

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 2003-2004  USE BY INSTRUCTIONAL GROUPS

ON-SITE RESERVE USE:

The Stunt Ranch Reserve determines use on the basis of visitor days. During 2003-2004, the reserve had 3602 users and 5071 user days. These user numbers are broken down by university-level use from UCLA, other UC campuses, the California State University system, and others within/outside California. In addition to university use, the Reserve hosted environmental education programs for K-12 coordinated by the Cold Creek Docents, and varied public outreach programs.

For more information on the UCLA Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve, visit http://nrs.ucop.edu/Reserves/stunt.html, email cfelixso@ucla.edu, or call 310 206-3887.

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K-12 AT STUNT RANCH RESERVE

2003-2004

Coordinated/led by the Cold Creek Docents of the Mountains Restoration Trust

Alexandria Elementary School, Los Angeles
Alta Loma Elementary, Los Angeles
Bay Laurel Elementary, Calabasas
Castle Heights Elementary, Los Angeles
Chamilian Armenian School, Glendale 
Chase St. Elementary, Panorama City
Coldwater Canyon Elementary, North Hollywood 
Community Harvest Charter, Los Angeles
Corinne Seeds University Elementary, UCLA
Curtis School, Los Angeles
Eastman Ave. Elementary, Los Angeles
Euclid Ave Elementary, Los Angeles
Fairbum Elementary, Los Angeles
Gardner St. Elementary, Los Angeles
Hale Middle School, Woodland Hills
Highland Hall School, Northridge
Hudson Elementary, Long Beach
Kennedy Elementary, Los Angeles
Liggett Elementary, Panorama City
Limerick Ave. Elementary, Canoga Park
Loyola Village Elementary, Los Angeles
Lycee Francais De Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Main Street Elementary, Los Angeles
Marvin Ave. Elementary, Los Angeles
Mirman School, Los Angeles
Monlux Math/Sci Elementary, North Hollywood
Mount Washington Elementary, Los Angeles
Nimitz Middle School, Huntington Park
Normont Elementary, Los Angeles
Open Charter School, Los Angeles
Our Lady of the Valley, Canoga Park
Palisades High School, Pacific Palisades
Park Century School, Los Angeles
Round Meadow Elementary, Los Virgenes
Russell Ave Elementary, Los Angeles
Sepulveda Middle School, Sepulveda
Stoner Ave. Elementary, Culver City
Sutter Middle School, Canoga Park
The Oaks School, Hollywood
Toluca Lake Elementary, Los Angeles
Turningpoint School, Culver City
Vintage Magnet, North Hills
Warner Ave. Elementary, Los Angeles
Windsor Hills Elementary, Los Angeles
 

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RESERVE RESEARCH FEATURED IN THE FOLLOWING PUBLICATIONS:

RESEARCH PROJECTS

 With 2003-2004 Updates