#36 March. 2, 2026

[Eric Zimmerman]

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IMPORTANT REGISTRATION DATES & DEADLINES:

 

3/2/26              TODAY!  Start of Spring Quarter Registration Pass #3.
Check GOLD for your day and time!

- View Winter Quarter Registration Deadlines here.
- View Registration Pass Times & Info here.

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INDEX:

 

1)  UCSB ENV LAW CLUB EVENT:  Comment Writing Workshop with Forest Watch 
    Director and UCSB/ES Alum, Jeff Kuyper.
    - Tuesday, March 3, 6-7pm in Bren hall 4016

 

2)  UCSB Coastal Fund:  Spring Grant Application Deadlines

 

3)  UCSB Lecture:  “Measuring Deterrence: Ranger Patrols Reduce Poaching in Uganda” 
    by Dr. Lily Xu, Assistant Professor, Columbia University
    - Mon, Mar 9 2026, 11am - 12pm, Bren Hall 1414

 

4)  Great opportunity for students to participate in the Culinary Resilience Workshop, 
    which is a six-week pilot program designed to support those navigating food insecurity 
    in the Isla Vista community.

 

5)  Santa Barbara Channelkeeper invites you to upcoming cleanup event in Isla Vista
    on March 8^th, 9:30-11:30am.

 

6)  Sign up for UCSB Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class in Spring, 
    provides FREE, hands-on training to help individuals and communities prepare for, 
    and respond to disasters.

 

7)  Isla Vista Surfrider Sea Level Rise Adaptation Survey regarding Isla Vista coastal erosion.

8)  Interested in learning what a career in groundwater on the Central Coast could look like? 
    Come attend our March 11th, 2026 Careers in Groundwater Panel Discussion, 
    hosted by the Groundwater Resources Association (GRA) Central Coast Branch 
    from 5:30-7:30pm. 

 

9)  GRADUATING SENIOR?  UCSB has begun the search for student commencement 
    speakers this Spring. Seven student ceremonies are scheduled this year, and each will 
    have a student speaker. APPLY to be this year’s speaker!

 

10)  Bring a new perspective to problem solving with Northwestern's Master of Science in Law

 

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CONTENT:

1)  UCSB ENV LAW CLUB EVENT:  Comment Writing Workshop with Forest Watch Director and UCSB/ES Alum, Jeff Kuyper.
- Tuesday, March 3, 6-7pm in Bren hall 4016

 

- Hear about grassroots legal advocacy from the founder of Los Padres Forest Watch.
- Learn the process of public comment on government plans.
- Write a public comment for the BLM proposal opening for oil drilling by March 6^th.

See attached flier.

 

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2)  UCSB Coastal Fund:  Spring Grant Application Deadlines

 

With only a week of break between Winter and Spring quarters, our spring application deadlines are fast approaching! 

- Major (over $1000) Application Deadline- 
8PM Friday April 3rd, 2026
- Minor ($1000 or less) Application Deadline- 
8PM Friday May 8th, 2026

Lean more about Coast Fund funding here!  If you have any questions about an application or want to discuss an idea before submitting a full proposal, feel free to contact coast...@as.ucsb.edu or our advisor Sarah at sar...@as.ucsb.edu.

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3)  UCSB Lecture:  “Measuring Deterrence: Ranger Patrols Reduce Poaching in Uganda” by Dr. Lily Xu, Assistant Professor, Columbia University
- Mon, Mar 9 2026, 11am - 12pm, Bren Hall 1414

Rangers serve as a primary defense for wildlife conservation, patrolling 21.7 million km2 of protected areas globally to protect wildlife from poaching and other threats. The high cost of patrols is justified by the assumption that rangers deter poachers from returning in the future. While anecdotal knowledge and correlational studies support patrol-induced deterrence, there is currently no causal evidence of deterrence nor a quantification of the magnitude of its effects. Causal inference is especially difficult in this setting because poaching events are only partially observable, and the likelihood of observing poaching depends on patrol effort, thus entangling the treatment and outcome variables. Using 7 years of ranger patrol data from Murchison Falls Conservation Area in Uganda, we present the first causal evidence of ranger-patrol deterrence.

Lily Xu is Sun-Wu Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia University. Her research develops AI methods across machine learning, optimization, and causal inference for planetary health challenges, with a focus on biodiversity conservation.

Click here for detailed info about this talk and speaker.

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4)  Great opportunity for students to participate in the Culinary Resilience Workshop, which is a six-week pilot program designed to support those navigating food insecurity in the Isla Vista community.

Hosted by the UCSB ENVS Environmental Leadership Incubator (ELI) in partnership with Apples to Zucchini Cooking School and the St. George YMCA, this initiative provides hands-on instruction in preparing healthy, chef-quality meals using affordable and sustainable ingredients. Participants will master practical kitchen skills while working with staples from the AS Food Bank and local seasonal produce.

The workshop will be held on Tuesday evenings from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM at the St. George YMCA in Isla Vista. The series runs for six sessions from April 7 through May 19 and is free of charge, including a shared community meal at each session. We are currently seeking a dedicated cohort of nine students who can commit to the full six-week program.

The application period is currently open, and we aim to select the final cohort by March 15. We would greatly appreciate it if you could share the registration link provided below with your students or include it in your upcoming newsletters to help us reach those who would benefit most from this program.

Application Link: Culinary Resistance Workshop Application

See attached flier and for more info contact Stella Cosgrove <stellac...@ucsb.edu>

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5)  Santa Barbara Channelkeeper invites you to upcoming cleanup event in Isla Vista on March 8^th, 9:30-11:30am.

 

Join Channelkeeper’s UCSB interns for an Isla Vista community cleanup this Sunday! Volunteers will meet at Pelican Park and work together to clean surrounding streets, helping prevent debris from entering storm drains and flowing out into the ocean.

 

Channelkeeper will provide cleanup supplies, snacks, and a sweet treat!

 

Registration Link: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/4chtpb3/lp/48c10e0f-7326-4e56-8d38-b00a542268cc

 

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6)  Sign up for UCSB Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class in Spring, provides FREE, hands-on training to help individuals and communities prepare for, and respond to disasters.

 

The UCSB Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program provides FREE, hands-on training to help individuals and communities prepare for, and respond to disasters. This 3-day course covers disaster preparedness, fire suppression, medical operations, search and rescue, disaster psychology, and ends with a live disaster simulation. No prior experience is required, and the course is open to all! Lunch and snacks will be provided. Opportunities for future trainer leadership available. 

 

Dates: April 26th, May 2nd, and May 3rd (Must attend all 3 dates!)

Times: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Location: UCSB Environmental Health & Safety, Building 565

 

To register, you MUST sign up BY APRIL 20th through this form: tinyurl.com/springcert26

More info: https://www.sustainability.ucsb.edu/cert-get-involved 

 

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7)  Isla Vista Surfrider Sea Level Rise Adaptation Survey regarding Isla Vista coastal erosion.

Isla Vista is dealing with serious coastal erosion and sea level rise. We’ve created a quick survey to establish a baseline understanding of how the UCSB and Isla Vista community experiences/perceives coastal erosion and sea level rise. Our goal is to collect background information to document lived experiences with housing, safety, observed coastal change, and assess awareness of existing outreach and risk communication to help inform the UCSB Ocean and Coastal Policy Center's Shoreline Adaptation Project/implement the UCSB Sea Level Rise Adaptation Strategy (SLRAS). 

 

The survey takes less than 2 minutes to fill out, and participants have a chance to win an IV Outfitters x Surfrider hat or t-shirt! 

 

Here is the survey link: Coastal Adaptation Survey.

 

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8)  Interested in learning what a career in groundwater on the Central Coast could look like? Come attend our March 11th, 2026 Careers in Groundwater Panel Discussion, hosted by the Groundwater Resources Association (GRA) Central Coast Branch from 5:30-7:30pm. 

 

Hear directly from industry professionals, representing the hydrogeology, groundwater consulting, water resource management, environmental, and academia sectors of the groundwater industry, explain what a day-in-the-life of a groundwater professional is like. 

 

The meeting will be in Bren 1414 and include a moderator-led panel discussion where each sector representative will describe their educational background and professional experience, what they do on a day-to-day basis, the types of projects they work on and other information to help better understand what different careers are available in the wonderful world of groundwater. Additional information on our speakers is provided here. 

 

Panelists include: 

· Dr. Debra Perrone, Associate Professor

· Rick Hoffman, PG, CEG, CHG

· Delaney Todd, PG, Geologist

· Cait Mazzoleni, PG, Project Geologist

Following the panel discussion, a networking event will be held on the Bren patio. 

 

Pizza and refreshments will be provided.

 

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9)  GRADUATING SENIOR?  UCSB has begun the search for student commencement speakers this Spring. Seven student ceremonies are scheduled this year, and each will have a student speaker. APPLY to be this year’s speaker!

 

Note that this year, as you will see on the Commencement schedule. Students with questions regarding applying to speak at one of these single-department ceremonies should contact the related department (Economics or Psych and Brain Sciences).

 

The speaker application form below is for for students who are participating in one of the five multi-department ceremonies, including:

- Humanities & Fine Arts - Friday, June 12, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

- Mathematical & Physical Sciences - Saturday, June 13, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

- Biological Sciences & Environmental Studies - Saturday, June 13, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

- Social Sciences - Sunday, June 14, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

- Sociology & Political Science - Sunday, June 14, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Student speakers will be selected to deliver a brief commencement address (about 5 minutes) as representatives of their classmates. I am writing to ask you and your colleagues for help in identifying candidates for this role.

Although there are no absolute requirements, candidates should have good verbal communication skills and a strong academic record. In addition, we have found that students with unusual life experiences tend to make good speakers.

If you wish to nominate a student, please submit the student's full name, (and perm number if possible) no later than Monday, March 9, 2026 to Nick Alward-Saxon, Executive Assistant to the Dean, at ni...@ltsc.ucsb.edu. Our office will then contact the student to invite them to apply.

Students who wish to apply to speak at any of the multi-department ceremonies should fill out the electronic application at:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd9u5DJLG_cKVS25BEwC7SWI-vlhLa9JJza2M0sj0qtjsiOtQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Student applications must be submitted via the above form by the final deadline of Monday, March 30, 2026.

 

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10)  Bring a new perspective to problem solving with Northwestern's Master of Science in Law

 

In today’s rapidly evolving marketplace, STEM professionals must understand and anticipate the increasingly complex legal, regulatory, and business issues that impact their work. That’s why forward-thinking STEM majors are choosing to enroll in Northwestern's Master of Science in Law (MSL). 

We believe this one-of-a-kind degree could be a good fit for some of your Environmental Science students, and ask that you share this invitation to meet with us at the:  

Master of Science in Law Open House
Saturday, March 7th
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
in person and online - registration link is above

This innovative, nine-month master’s degree is designed for people with STEM backgrounds who are interested in law and in the legal and regulatory aspects of their professional work, but who may not need the full JD curriculum to achieve their career goals. Through a series of practical courses focused on real-world challenges facing the STEM fields, MSL students learn how to:
 - Navigate the regulatory process
 - Form businesses & devise strategies that foster innovation
 - Assess & utilize AI and big data
 - Develop & manage intellectual property
 - Communicate & negotiate with multi-disciplinary teams

Sound interesting? Our streamlined admissions process requires no test scores or application fee, and applicants receive a prompt decision. The final deadline to apply is June 1st. 

Can't Join Us at the Open House?  We Can Still Connect! 

We're eager to share how MSL courses, faculty, and student services can help broaden your career options. Request information here or meet with us to learn more!

-- 
Eric D. Zimmerman  (he/him)
Student Services Manager, Lecturer
Environmental Studies, UC Santa Barbara

To schedule a Zoom advising appointment visit:
https://tinyurl.com/8nrcckds

       "Work Hard ~ Play Harder!"