The Campus Natural Reserve provides many opportunities for internships and student projects involving everything plants, animals, forest ecology, restoration and stewardship. They are currently in the process of creating a Story Map and slideshow that provides information of all of the experiential learning opportunities and best stewardship practices here at UC Santa Cruz.
The UCSC Campus Living Lab online map was created in response to the Campus Sustainability Plan's Action 4.3A which was to develop new materials to promote experiential learning, and Action 5.3A which is establishing a base line for formal and informal engagement opportunities. UCSC undergraduates Jon-Mychal Cox and Sarina Sylavong and UCSC Campus Natural Reserve manager Alex Jones used the paper Campus Living Lab map developed by the Sustainability Office as a starting point. They utilized UCSC ESRI's Story Map platform to design a "living" map to document many of UCSC's living labs.
The map includes a variety of on-campus organizations and programs within several categories: Agroecology, Design and Engineering, Environmental Education, Environmental Justice and Sustainability, UCSC Natural Reserves, and Stewardship and Natural History. Some labs include the Alan Chadwick Garden, Arboretum and Botanic Garden, and Forest Ecology Research Plot. Each living lab is mapped geographically on an interactive map and includes a program description and information about ways for students to get involved.
If you have any updated information for organizations currently listed on the map, or would like to add organizations not currently listed, please email Alex at asjones@ucsc.edu.