Channel Islands Restoration
A California Nonprofit Organization

P.O. Box 91414 Santa Barbara, CA 93190
(805) 448-5726

Email: contact@cirweb.org

East Santa Cruz Island Project

CIR works with Channel Islands National Park to remove non-native plants, collect seed and plant native species in sensitive habitats on the eastern end of Santa Cruz Island. We conduct both single-day and multi-day trips to this portion of the island, and several hundred people, including school kids and adult service groups, have helped us with this project so far.

On single-day trips, participants perform service work at several important restoration sites, learn about island ecology while hiking on interesting trails and experience the park visitor center.  On overnight trips, participants stay in the Park Service campground and get involved with a wide variety of activities including evening educational activities,  swimming,  kayak excursions and hiking. 

CIR also provides a variety of pre-trip educational services designed to prepare participants for their trip and to enhance their on-island experience.  Our popular PowerPoint presentations cover the following topics:

• The unique nature of the Channel Islands and nearby marine sanctuary.  This includes videos and slides of commonly seen marine mammals

• Maps and photos of the islands participants will visit

• Native American and European ranching history

• Island ecology and why islands are particularly vulnerable to human disturbance

• The impacts of non-native species

• Native plant and animal restoration projects

• Slides of kids and adults participating in service projects

CIR also provides educational walks at the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens and visits to the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center prior to many trips.  This is a great opportunity to teach ecology in detail in a natural setting, while seeing many of the endemic plants that grow on the islands.

If you are part of a service group or school that would like to experience this unique service opportunity, then Contact CIR for more information.  For details on our work with school groups on eastern SCI, CLICK HERE

Scroll down this page to view images of East Santa Cruz Island (click on a photo to view a larger image).