SPF Funds 14 Projects totaling over $75,000

SPF Funds 14 Projects totaling over $75,000



(PRWEB) March 7, 2000



Shoreline Preservation Fund news release



Shoreline Preservation Fund



Associated Students, UCSB



Santa Barbara, CA 93106



Phone 805-893-5166



Http://orgs. sa. ucsb. edu/spf/ (http://orgs. sa. ucsb. edu/spf/)



For Details, Contact:



Philip Tseng



Shoreline Preservation Fund



Phone (805) 893-5166



Spf@as. ucsb. edu



For Immediate Release March 7th, 2000



SPF Funds 14 Projects totaling over $75,000



Student-created fund distributes money to benefit the UCSB coastline



Santa Barbara, CA - March 7, 2000: During the first two academic quarters at UCSB, the Shoreline Preservation Fund (SPF) has granted monies totaling over $75,000 to projects aimed at preserving the ecological integrity of the shoreline surrounding the UCSB campus. The Board of the Shoreline Preservation Fund approved a total of fourteen projects that will benefit the community in various ways. Craig Revell, a member of the SPF Board, comments "I am thrilled with the outcome of this quarter. We have chosen projects that test the water,



Clean the beach, educate people in many different arenas, restore valuable



Habitat, and increase our knowledge of local coastal systems."



 The project that received the biggest sum was designed by the Conception Coast Project (CCP). The $28,780 project will create digital maps using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology. These maps will highlight ecologically sensitive areas, land use, and recreational resources. CCP plans to incorporate the maps of the coastline into workbooks, which will be used in an aggressive education program aimed at instilling stewardship of the environment to the university's newest students. SPF board member Brian Counterman said he thinks CCP's program is a wise use of the money generated by the student lock-in fee because it is a long-term project dedicated to helping



The local environment. "I think [the program] is a good idea because it is



Something that can be continuously applied to freshmen and people in the UCSB community," he said. "It's not a one-time shot... I think the maps are going to



Be a valuable resource for university research." CCP plans to reach out to more



Than 3000 incoming freshman and transfer students by the end of this year.



 Another project approved by the Board of the Shoreline Preservation Fund is a $13,015 project to start a UCSB shoreline water-quality monitoring program.



This program would augment the county's Project Clean Water program by adding



Four additional testing sites along the Isla Vista peninsula. It is hoped that



The project will increase the community's awareness in public health safety. By



Increasing testing resolution, it is hoped that ocean bacterial pollution



Problem may be isolated and nullified. The data from these additional tests



Will be posted on the web and in the local press. SPF chair, Laura Brands is



Extremely excited about funding water-testing that will be initiated at numerous sites along the UCSB shoreline. "The SPF Board worked for many months with two members of Surfrider Foundation to create an ocean water quality testing program that is comprehensive, frequent, and will give us more information on



Contaminants in the ocean than any County program currently does."



 Additionally, the SPF Board approved two projects aimed at enhancing Coal



Oil Point Reserve. The first provides $13,015 for restoration of the dunes at



Coal Oil Point Reserve through removal of acacia and Myoporum (non-native and



Invasive plants) from the most of the Reserve. The restoration of these dunes -



Some of the last in central and southern California - will improve their biological function and in turn benefit UCSB students and researchers as well as the community. The second project at this site is a $7,405 educational and community outreach program. A naturalist will be stationed on the beach at Coal Oil Point (Sands Beach) with a spotting scope so that the public can get a



Detailed look at and understanding of the Western Snowy Plover, a federally



Endangered species. This project will also co-fund an outdoor snowy plover



Education program for fifth graders, currently partly funded by Los Marineros.



 The SPF Board also approved ten additional projects which include the



Determination of the sources of high nutrient levels in Goleta Slough, a field



Guide for plants of the UCSB shoreline, and a "Beachwatch" program which will



Assign UCSB students to regularly maintain and clean the local coastal zone.



 Members of the SPF Board of Directors are very pleased with the progress



Of the newly founded Fund. According to SPF Board member Nevin Hindiyeh, "In



The past few weeks I have had the opportunity to help fund projects here at UCSB which I know will not only make our oceans cleaner, but will educate everyone



From elementary school kids to the weekend IV jogger. It is amazing what three dollars per student can do." Board member J. Scott Bull adds, "I am very excited and pleased with the extent of careful examination and consideration by the SPF Board on each project proposal. It was a difficult process and our group met the challenges efficiently and effectively. We look forward to more innovative and valuable project proposals which benefit the entire campus community next quarter."



 According to SPF Staff Philip Tseng, the Shoreline Preservation Fund is



Also setting precedence for the possible formation of similar groups on other



Campuses. "Our organization is a result of a grassroots effort which recognized



A need for these funds in the local community to care for its coast. Our hope



Is that students on other college campuses can form similar groups that will



Benefit the unique needs of their local communities."



 The goal of the Shoreline Preservation Fund is to preserve, protect, and enhance the terrestrial and marine habitats associated with the shoreline of the University of California, Santa Barbara. The SPF provides funds for projects that seek to preserve, enhance, or restore these areas or to educate the community at UCSB about the ecological value of this coastal ecosystem. The SPF also provides funds to create safe and open access to the UCSB shoreline and to



Help keep these areas clean. Projects will be considered on the basis of merit, importance to the goals of the SPF, and the qualifications of the applicants to



Carry out the proposed project.



 Applications for funding and general information can be obtained by



Contacting (805) 893-5166 or downloaded electronically at



Http://orgs. sa. ucsb. edu/spf/ (http://orgs. sa. ucsb. edu/spf/). Applications are due on April 7, 2000 for Fall



Quarter 2000 Funding.



 The Shoreline Preservation Fund was formed as a result of a ballot measure



Passed in the 1999 UCSB elections, which locked-in $3.00 of Undergraduate and



Graduate fees for the preservation and maintenance of the UCSB shoreline.