Global Environmental Speaker Series

“Sentinel Sites for Nature: Assessing biodiversity at scales that matter for California.”

Steven L. Monfort, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Executive Director, Natural Reserve System
Office of Research & Innovation, University of California System

Established in 1965, the University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is the largest university-administered suite of field stations in the world, with 50,000 UC-owned acres that provide access to an additional 2 million acres of partnership lands representing all of the major ecosystems of California. The UCNRS supports the UC’s mission of research, education, and public service, with a focus on understanding nature and how it’s being impacted by climate change and human development, as well using experiential learning to help train the next generation of nature-literate citizens, scientists, and leaders. In this talk, you will learn that the UCNRS also serves as the backbone organization for Sentinel Sites for Nature, California (SSN), a multi-jurisdictional network of more than 100 sentinel sites representing the full range of California ecosystems. In this talk, you will learn about UCNRS programs, with an emphasis on developing the SSN as a distributed statewide “ecological instrument” capable of continuous, real-time assessments of climate and biodiversity indicators—from local to regional to statewide scales—capable of providing early warning signs of species at risk of extinction, as well as measuring the benefits of investments in restoration and adaptation.

Each year the Department of Geography, Environment, & Sustainability, the Environmental Studies Program, and Global Studies Program partner to bring noteworthy speakers and scholars to Richmond to present lectures related to our global environment. All events are free and open to the public.