Greetings from the Biodiversity Team

By Jennifer Adachi 

We’re so excited to improve biodiversity at UCLA. Let’s meet the team!

As a 4th year environmental science major and conservation biology minor, Tiffany looks forward to continuing her work on conservation. She worked with the first SAR biodiversity team to create a set of biodiversity indicators measuring ecosystem health in LA.

Jen is a 4th year biology major and environmental engineering minor. She enjoys the outdoors and has conducted conservation and ecology field research in California and Colorado. Jen is passionate about sustainability and excited to improve biodiversity.

Jamie, a 3rd year environmental science major and environmental engineering minor, hasn’t had much experience with biodiversity. She is incredibly interested in climate change and since climate change affects biodiversity, she is excited to branch out and work on our team.

Abir, a 2nd year environmental science major with a concentration in environmental health sciences, is excited to engage in fieldwork after eradicating invasive species at Sage Hill. Abir is interested in protecting pollinators and replacing decorative landscapes with drought tolerant plants.

Kayla is a 4th year studying ecology, behavior, and evolution and minoring in science education. She has always loved hiking and the outdoors, but doing research in California’s diverse ecosystems this past fall peaked her interest in biodiversity.

Valeree, a 2nd year biology major, looks forward to increasing the number of native species on campus. She hopes to gain ecological research experience to build upon her past involvements in fieldwork surrounding threatened species.

Polly is a 3rd year Biology major and is excited to learn about biodiversity and restoration on campus!

Our stakeholder, Thomas Gillespie, is a professor in Geography and IoES. Gillespie is passionate about biodiversity and conservation and will provide valuable guidance to our team.

We are excited to contribute to the ongoing research and projects at UCLA to improve biodiversity and engage the community in sustainability. We believe we can help make UCLA an example of how urban areas can serve as home to wildlife.