News and Dates for Friends of Sedgwick Reserve                       No. 8                                                                         November, 2013
For Your Calendar

Friday, November 8th  SPACE NIGHT !!! 5pm-10pm    
 
Saturday, November 9th - Public Hike
8am - 1pm

Friday, November 22nd - Walking Ecology Lecture (Movie): Greenfire, the Aldo Leopold Legacy 9am - noon; 

Friday, December 13th - Walking Ecology Lecture: Sedgwick Perspectives - an Artist and a Scientist; Bruce Tiffney & Hank Pitcher, UCSB 9am - noon

Saturday, December 14th- Public Hike
8am - 1pm

Saturday, January 11th - Public Hike
8am - 1pm

Friday, January 24th Walking Ecology Lecture: Ticks and Lyme Disease in Santa Barbara County Andy McDonald, UCSB
9am - noon

Friday, February 14 - Walking Ecology Lecture: Chumash Culture - Paul Gelles 9am - noon

Friday, April 4 - Walking Ecology Lecture:
Fog- How Important Is It? - Nate Emery, UCSB, 9am - noon
There is no charge for Sedgwick events
though reservations are recommended for hikes as space is limited 
Reservation Links

Safety Note
 
Acorns are dropping on Brinkerhoff and animals abound. Please drive carefully and slow down on your drive in! null

It's That Time of Year!

photo contest
 
Our annual fundraiser in support of operations and the native plant nursery is underway through the end of the year. Please use this link to make an on-line gift Thanks!!
Contact Us

Phone
805.686.1941

Email
sedgwick@lifesci.ucsb.edu
Sedgwick News
and upcoming events.....

Join us for the first lecture in the
2013-14 Walking Ecology Lecture series

Space Exploration - the Final Frontier?

by George Carlisle, NASA
  
Friday November 8th at
7pm


Preceding the lecture astrophysicists from LCOGT will be giving tours of the Byrne Observatory (5-6:30 pm)
Following the lecture volunteers from the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (SBAU) will have telescopes set up for night sky viewing (8-9:30)

The first 100 arrivals to the front gate starting at 5pm will be admitted

Dress warmly and bring flashlights! 
Come Hiking!
Saturday November 9th 8:30 am - 1pm 

  

Three hikes will be lead by docent trail guides:  

an easy 1.5 mile tour around the field station

1-2 moderate hikes depending on how many sign up

and a strenuous hike to the top of the Reserve (and hopefully, back!)  

 

Reservations are recommended and can be made on the web at http://sedgwick.nrs.ucsb.edu/ or by calling (805) 686-1941 x3.

Please arrive by 8:30 to register.
Bring your lunch and stay afterwards to
enjoy the shade of the oaks

A suggested donation of $10 per person or $15 per family is appreciated but not required.
Research News
UCSB Geography Professor Dar Roberts was recently awarded a grant by NASA to evaluate seasonal biochemical changes in fire-prone plants to see how spectral changes are visible to thermal infrared sensing. Dar's project concentrates on keystone species found at Sedgwick (one sage and three oaks) from which leaf material are being harvested (as seen below) for spectral analysis at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Quarterly sampling coincides with NASA AVIRIS-MASTER remote sensing flights over the Reserve.  Dar's findings will be of great help in developing new remote sensing tools used by fire ecologists mapping the state's natural resources. 

From left: UCSB graduate student Susan Meerdink, PhD student from Brazil Cibele Amaral and UCSB undergraduate intern Kevin Wengler sampling Purple sage.  
Tales from the Trough
Yellow-billed magpies (Pica nuttalli) have the noble distinction of being the a true California endemic, as they are found nowhere else on Earth except in the coastal valleys and foothills of central California. Santa Ynez Valley is the southern extent of their known breeding range. Numbers in California are thought to be slowly declining due to habitat loss/conversion, rodent poisoning, and West Nile virus. While more common on the main street of Los Olivos than at Sedgwick Reserve (for reasons that are not clear, though who could blame them?) these loud, colorful and gregarious members of the crow/jay family are always a delight to encounter in the oak savannas of Sedgwick. 
  sedgwick@lifesci.ucsb.edu | http://sedgwick.nrs.ucsb.edu/
3566 Brinkerhoff Road
Santa Ynez, CA 93460
(805) 686-1941

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