| Summary: | This dataset is from a master's group thesis project at The Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and contains the data files from the analyses (see below for the associated dataset containing the full final written report, which will provide more information on methods and results). The graduate student researchers who completed this project include: Tess Hooper, Daphne Virlar-Knight, Priscilla Hare, Robert Heim, and Jessica Gomez. This project, titled "Managing the Impacts of Environmental Education on Nature Preserves", focused on analyzing the potential ecological impacts that environmental education programming may have on sensitive plant and wildlife species on the Dangermond Preserve. Through mapping areas with sensitive plant and wildlife habitat, the group ranked environmental education trails on the preserve based on ecological impact. They also created a management tool that The Nature Conservancy can use to select trails that provide educational opportunities while reducing impacts to native biodiversity. Notably, the data indicates that all 12 education trails on the preserve pass through areas of low and high ecological impact, and that the best trail depends on each school group’s needs and The Nature Conservancy’s conservation goals. This project intends to help The Nature Conservancy manage its education programs on the Dangermond Preserve, and offers an approach that other land managers can use to inform decisions about balancing the trade-offs of environmental education in biologically diverse areas. The raw data used in the spatial analyses came from The Nature Conservancy and the following open source databases: 1. California Wildlife Habitat Relationship Systems 2. State Soil Geographic (STATSGO2) Data Base for California 3. 2014 California Basin Characteristic Model Downscaled Climate and Hydrology (30-year summaries) 4. Consortium of California Herbaria The project began in April 2019 and ended in June 2020. To access the final written report associated with this project, visit the dataset titled "Managing the Ecological Impacts of Environmental Education on the Dangermond Preserve (Final Report Only), The Bren School, University of California Santa Barbara, 2019-2020".
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