The BASICS
A newsletter of the Life and Physical
Sciences,
UCLA College of Letters and Science. Volume 4, Number 1, Winter 1999
A Nature Center at UCLA's Stunt Ranch Santa
Monica Mountains Reserve
UCLA's Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve - a 310 acre parcel located in the
tranquil Cold Creek watershed between Calabasas and Malibu - has received a $50,000 award
from the Santa Maria Trails and Parks
Association (SMTPA) to supplement its educational programs about the ecology and changing
human populations of the Santa Monica Mountains. Over the next five years, the award will
benefit university-level as well as
K-12 programs, and also help to engage a broader community audience at this valuable
facility.
The reserve includes 67 acres of University-owned land as well as 243 acres that are
managed by the State of California. It is named for the Stunt brothers - Harry, Walter,
and Ernest - who along with their cousin Sidney,
homesteaded the property in 1885. First settled by two tribes of native Californians - the
Chumash and Gabrielinos/Tongvas - and then by the Stunt family, the area contains rich
deposits of prehistoric artifacts dating
from 3000 B.C. to 1000 A.D. One can also find fine examples of chaparral and oak-woodland
ecosystems. In 1995, the property was incorporated as the University of California Natural
Reserve System's thirty-second site, and
the only one administered by UCLA.
The SMTPA award provides partial funding for three major exhibits within a soon-to-be
constructed nature center, on the site of the original Stunt Ranch buildings that were
destroyed by the 1993 Malibu/Topanga fire. One
planned exhibit is a series of indoor displays depicting "stories" about the
cultural, natural, and dynamic landscapes of the Cold Creek area. The stories will
illustrate such topics as the area's human history, the role of fire in the ecology of the
Santa Monica Mountains, typical local riparian and chaparral habitats, Southern California
as one of the planet's
Mediterranean-climate ecosystems, regional geology, and resource management concerns at
the interface between wildlife and urban areas. Outdoors, a replica of a Chumash village
will feature three "aps" - traditional Chumash
houses built from frames of bent willow branches covered with tule (bulrush) thatch - as
well as a seating area where visitors can participate in small-group activities. Winding
around the educational center and terminating at the village, a nature trail will lead
visitors to plantings of indigenous species as well as markers describing the ecology of
the live-oak woodland community and Native American uses of natural materials.
Each year, more than 4,000 guests visit the reserve to engage in teaching, research,
and public education about natural ecosystems in the midst of our heavily urbanized Los
Angeles area. Many of these visitors are students
from local schools who participate in a K-12 science curriculum coordinated by the Cold
Creek Docents (a division of the Mountains Restoration Trust). Faculty, research staff,
and students from UCLA and universities around the
world also make regular visits to the facility. College departments ranging from astronomy
to anthropology, from geology to biology, use the reserve as a natural laboratory for
outdoor classes and field trips. Other visitors include groups from local organizations
involved in resource management, archaeology, and wildlife ecology.
UCLA's Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve is readily accessible by paved roads and is located twenty-six miles from campus. In addition, the Stunt High Trail - which crosses through the western portion of the reserve - is open for public hiking and equestrian use daily from dawn to dusk. To obtain more information, visit the Stunt Ranch Web site at http://nrs.ucop.edu/Reserves/stunt.html , or call Carol Felixson, director of education and community outreach, at (310) 206-3887.