5 Initiatives of the Community Environmental Council

Many Santa Barbara residents are familiar with the 1969 oil spill that triggered the city’s first wave of environmental activism, a movement that has continued to gain traction over the course of the subsequent 46 years. For a community that has long given the ocean a starring role in the development of its local culture, the emotional effects of the oil spill were dramatic and left many residents feeling devastated.

Out of all the negative consequences caused by the Union Oil Company’s ruptured pipeline came a single silver lining: the crisis inspired a zealous interest in environmental protection within the Santa Barbara community. One year after the oil spill occurred, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) was established, hosting an event for the United States’ first-ever celebration of Earth Day on April 22, 1970.

Since its foundation, the Community Environmental Council has launched a number of initiatives, projects, and events in the interest of maintaining the health and prosperity of Santa Barbara’s local ecosystem. The CEC continues to honor its commitment to environmental health through the following current initiatives: 

1. Drive Less 

Automobiles are responsible for approximately a third of the air pollution in America, contributing carbon monoxide and other toxins to the environment and creating smog and ozone damage that can drastically impact all life forms. However, the carbon footprint left behind by cars stems from more than just their operation. The plants that produce the steel, rubber, plastics, and paint used in automobile assembly require large amounts of energy and emit significant air pollution in the process. 

The CEC’s Drive Less initiative encourages Santa Barbara residents to limit their consumption of fossil fuels and improve air quality through the use of alternate transportation modes. In order to make the reduction of car use as simple to implement as possible, the organization has developed resources like the Bicycle Master Plan, which outlines a long-term strategy for effectively and affordably making Santa Barbara more bicycle-friendly. Additionally, the organization is focused on establishing an efficient ridesharing project for the city, and offers tips on how to reduce car use through its Drive Less blog.

2. Choose Electric

The CEC’s ultimate goal is to eliminate Santa Barbara’s dependency on fossil fuels within one generation, and doing so requires the group to provide residents who cannot reduce their use of automobiles with a green alternative. The CEC’s Choose Electric initiative helps frequent automobile users be ecofriendly by providing informational resources about clean energy cars.

 Through the Plug in Santa Barbara program, the group has established more than 300 area charging stations for electric vehicles and continues to work with local businesses to locate additional viable sites for green cars to replenish their energy. Additionally, the three annual green car shows hosted by the CEC bring a wide range of clean energy car models to the streets in order to allow residents to observe and learn about the benefits of using these alternative vehicles.

3. Go Solar

Residents know that Santa Barbara’s climate is one of its most endearing assets, and with an average of 300 days of sunshine each year, the region is an ideal candidate for the implementation of solar energy. The Community Environmental Council aims to put into practice a system of zero-net-energy buildings in the Santa Barbara area within 20 years through its Go Solar initiative.

  

Through a proposal submitted to the city government in November of 2007, the organization outlined its reasoning behind the plan, and provided the city of Santa Barbara and its residents with a feasible plan of action to begin moving the region away from its use of fossil fuels. Additionally, as of June 2015, the county arranged funding for the CEC to conduct a feasibility study for its plan, and inspired two additional California counties to the north to participate in the study as well.

4. Ditch Plastic 

The use of plastic is so widespread that the amount of plastic in the environment is incalculable. In the United States alone, the average citizen throws away 185 pounds of the polymer each year, and as a country we reuse only 5 percent of that waste annually. These habits of overproduction and under-recycling have resulted in five “plastic islands” floating in the world’s oceans, contaminating the global ecosystem and ultimately endangering human life. 

The CEC has taken action against the unnecessary use of plastic in the Santa Barbara community through its Ditch Plastic initiative, introducing programs like Rethink the Drink, which installs water refill stations in county schools. Likewise, the organization’s Ban the Bag program played a part in legislation that will reduce the amount of plastic bags in the region each year by over 100 million. The Water Monster program also helps local event hosts to make their occasions plastic-free.

5. Eat Local

In addition to encouraging the production of fresh fruits and vegetables for Santa Barbara residents, the CEC’s Eat Local initiative focuses on diminishing the use of fossil fuels local businesses need by decreasing the amount of produce transported into the region from far-away locations. It also aims to stimulate the local economy by providing additional jobs for Santa Barbara farmers.

To accomplish this, the organization has partnered with local nonprofits to combine resources and develop a viable food system for the area called the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan. The CEC also hosts events and has published a paper on the effects of food waste in the county in an effort to reduce the amount of food waste produced locally.

Santa Barbara Undertakes Infrastructure Improvements

Santa Barbara Undertakes Infrastructure Improvements

The seaside city of Santa Barbara puts a significant amount of resources toward the well-being of its residents. Whether through its support for children in the community, provisions for local nonprofits, or construction of beautiful parks for locals to enjoy, the city offers excellent amenities to those who call Santa Barbara home.

Infrastructure is often such a basic amenity in the average American city that many forget the importance of its role in allowing a place like Santa Barbara to run smoothly. Components of city infrastructure such as transportation, water quality, recreational facilities, and electrical systems all contribute to the city’s economy and its population’s ability to operate efficiently as they go about their daily lives.

While the need for an upgrade to infrastructure systems within the United States has been a notable point of debate in recent years, the local government of Santa Barbara has already taken steps to improve the amenities and physical systems accessed by the metro area’s nearly 400,000 residents in the following four sectors:

1. Transportation

In order to more easily navigate the streets of Santa Barbara, amenities such as roads, sidewalks, bridges, and traffic signals need to be maintained and upgraded as they age. In an effort to support the infrastructure of the city’s transportation systems, the local government has proposed and implemented a number of recent projects.

The Zone 2 Road Maintenance Project began in September 2015 with the goal of repairing distressed and deteriorated pavement near the Hitchcock area north of Mission Canyon. Additionally, roadways are now being resealed and parking lots resurfaced in an effort to improve transportation conditions for residents. The area of Goleta also recently approved the purchase and installation of $60,000 worth of LED traffic signals, taking a proactive approach to replacing the technology that has been in place for longer than its suggested lifespan. In replacing certain traffic lights with energy efficient models prior to their failure, Santa Barbara is taking a step to avoid dangerous emergency change-outs.

Other improvements in the area of transportation infrastructure include bridge improvement projects, which are currently underway for several structures that stretch across Mission Creek, including the Cabrillo Boulevard, Mason Street, and Cota Street bridges. Collectively, the new bridges will increase flood capacity in their areas, improve safety, and make room for more pedestrian areas and greater walkability.

2. Water Quality and Creek Restoration

Santa Barbara’s proximity to the ocean makes for a beautiful view, but it also requires residents to incorporate responsible water quality practices into their daily lives. Street runoff is a dominant factor in the pollution of local creeks and streams, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean where it can affect local marine life.

In order to improve water quality in the area, city programs and local nonprofits focus on obtaining routine samples from water sources throughout Santa Barbara. The implementation of storm water drains and regular street sweeping programs help prevent runoff from becoming tainted with debris or other waste, while regulations established in the city’s Storm Water Management Program lay out guidelines for private residences and businesses to follow in order to avoid contaminating water sources.

Another crucial element to the infrastructure of water quality is the care of the creek systems that wind throughout the city. In addition to regular creek cleanup projects conducted by various charitable and governmental organizations, the city has commissioned multiple restoration projects in which participants remove invasive plants from creek banks, restore native vegetation, and remove unnecessary manmade barriers. In doing so, the city hopes to improve environmental health and save dwindling populations of fish native to the area, such as the Southern California steelhead trout.

3. Parks and Recreation

Early in 2015, the City of Santa Barbara outlined multiple proposed renovations to parks and community facilities in a six-year capital improvement program. Among the areas that the local government seeks to focus on are the replacement of the playground, park infrastructure safety, and renovations to buildings such as the Municipal Tennis Stadium.

Among the plans currently in the early stages of development in Santa Barbara are the proposed renovations to Cabrillo Ball Park, which includes improving the aesthetics, upgrading safety features, and potentially creating opportunities to play a wider variety of sports through the construction of basketball courts.

The city of Santa Barbara also focuses on caring for its existing parks through the practice of integrated pest management, an environmentally responsible practice that aims to keep parks pleasant for visitors while protecting the health of both human visitors and the land.

In order to improve fire safety on park land, city employees also practice wildland vegetation management in these areas, which reduces dry vegetation and establishes fire breaks throughout local parks and the homes that surround them.

4. Electrical Grid

The level of energy efficiency within a city’s electrical grid can affect how much its residents pay for power. Renovating an outdated grid can help reduce both the production and delivery costs of an inefficient system and can contribute to the conservation of resources.

In April 2015, energy company Southern California Edison announced that it will be making $12 million worth of renovations to downtown Santa Barbara’s power grid over a two-year period. The process will involve replacing outdated and malfunctioning parts, placing distribution poles, and adding newer technology that will allow for remote-controlled amenities that can be used to return power in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.

By upgrading the electrical grid, professionals will also be able to minimize the city’s number of unexpected outages. Additionally, the technology will help these men and women to more easily identify and isolate the outages, leading to quicker response times and faster restoration of power.

4 Nonprofits That Assist People in Need in Santa Barbara

4 Nonprofits That Assist People in Need in Santa Barbara

Last spring, many Santa Barbara residents participated in an initiative that sent several hundred volunteers out into the community in order to determine the extent of the county’s homeless population. While the city itself has provided housing to a multitude of men, women, children, and veterans over the last few years, the number of individuals in need residing within the county still numbers 1,455, according to a recent survey.

Seeking to provide housing and other necessary resources to people in need in Santa Barbara and the surrounding county, the following local nonprofits welcome homeless men, women, and children:

Casa Esperanza

The shelter Casa Esperanza is among the largest on California’s South Coast, and recently paired with the Los Angeles-based nonprofit People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) in order to help a larger number of people off of the streets. In addition to the fundraising efforts that it sponsors to raise money to combat homelessness, Casa Esperanza also serves as transitional housing.

In order to access the organization’s resources, applicants must have previously resided in Santa Barbara for at least six months. In addition, they must make a commitment to remain sober during their stay at the shelter. Once an individual opts for interim housing at Casa Esperanza, he or she may participate in a wide range of on-site programs and services, including job development programs, mental health programs, and men’s and women’s support groups.

Additionally, Casa Esperanza operates a community kitchen where residents receive three meals per day, adding up to nearly 144,000 meals each year. The kitchen also functions as a distribution center that collects and allots food to other local nonprofit kitchens that help feed populations in need within the community.

Santa Barbara Street Medicine

Founded in 2005, the local charity Santa Barbara Street Medicine focuses on providing resources to the local homeless population through volunteer physicians. Comprised of volunteers with medical and non-medical experience, Santa Barbara Street Medicine is the local chapter of a larger organization that provides medical care to men, women, and children in need, as well as survivors of natural disasters.

Although the nonprofit is established in the form of clinics in the areas of Isla Vista and Alameda, the medical volunteers also participate in clinical work in areas such as Pershing Park near the Santa Barbara Harbor. This form of street medicine involves making rounds throughout downtown equipped with medical instruments and medication. This kind of medical practice is performed in the interest of caring for men and women who may not have the physical capability to walk to one of the charity’s freestanding clinics.

Santa Barbara Street Medicine takes health care one step further through its operation of the Women’s Free Homeless Clinic, a place where women in need can find resources to treat various physical and mental health ailments. Those who look to the clinic for help can also get assistance in accessing other community resources to protect them from abusive conditions.

Santa Barbara Rescue Mission

A faith-based emergency shelter, the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission (SBRM) focuses the majority of its funding and resources on helping residents to overcome drug and alcohol addiction. Of the available beds at the mission, 100 are reserved specifically for men, a group which studies have suggested comprises the vast majority of the single homeless population.

At the SBRM, both men and women who stay overnight can store their luggage, take a nightly shower, attend chapel services, and receive both breakfast and dinner. Those who enroll in the organization’s year-long recovery programs are provided with a support network and educational plans designed to see them through the grueling process of coping with and overcoming alcohol and drug dependency.

The Mission also provides outpatient services several times a week in areas such as couples counseling, family support groups, relapse prevention, and many other mental health-related conditions.

Transition House

For over 30 years, Transition House has focused on providing families a place to stay for up to four months when they find themselves faced with homelessness. Families who stay at Transition House participate in one of three programs designed to help them operate independently again in a home of their own.

The nonprofit’s first option allows families to stay for up to four months in the organization’s emergency housing shelter, where they are provided with shelter, food, and childcare. Additionally, parents receive case management services that help them identify and implement strategies that will put them on the path to a stable career.

Under the second housing option, families may apply to live in one of the low-cost apartments owned by Transition House, where they continue to work with a case manager in an effort to build a career with a sustainable income. In this way, the nonprofit helps the family accrue a savings through professional development, enabling the family to eventually reach a position in which they can comfortably move into a market-rate home of their own.

Another program at Transition House aims to prevent homelessness by providing financial support to parents from families with low incomes in the form of cash rental assistance. As in the other options, the goal is to help parents in families threatened by homelessness to pursue and hold down a job that allows them to improve their family’s economic circumstances.

4 Beautiful Public Gardens in Santa Barbara

Faced with California’s ongoing drought, Santa Barbara residents have complied admirably with the water conservation guidelines established by the city government. One of the water-saving techniques adopted by residents is the inclusion of drought-resistant landscaping in their gardens. Homeowners throughout the city are replacing non-native plants and large expanses of grass with more water-efficient yard designs. Landscape components and irrigation systems sanctioned by the City of Santa Barbara are also eligible for rebates, which further encourages residents to help the city meet its water conservation goals.

Even as the city has decreased its water use, several lush public gardens are still thriving, thanks to responsible management practices. Here is a list of four beautiful gardens where Santa Barbara residents and visitors can take a relaxing stroll, admire unique plants and flowers, and take home some ideas for their own yards.

1. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

Established 90 years ago, this 78-acre expanse of land conserves the native plants of California for future generations. Backed by the Santa Ynez Mountains, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden allows visitors to explore flower-lined pathways leading to sites such as the Blaksley Boulder, an enormous sandstone rock flanked by trees that marks the center of the garden.

Along with its colorful flowers, succulents, and shrubs, the garden also provides guests with the opportunity to observe historical architecture in the form of the Mission Dam and Aqueduct, a structure designed by Franciscan padres and built by local Chumash Native Americans more than 200 years ago. In recent years, the structure has been designated as a historic landmark by the state of California.

In the wake of 2009’s Jesusita Fire, a significant portion of the garden’s eastern trails were burned. However, nature’s resilience has allowed much of the local plant life to flourish again, and stunning views of the Channel Islands can now be seen through the young plants from the garden’s Porter Trail.

2. Lotusland

While the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden serves as a testimony to the beauty of California’s indigenous plant species, Lotusland celebrates the exotic flora from gardens around the world. Originally functioning as the estate of famous opera singer Madame Ganna Walska, Lotusland is now a public garden that is home to more than 3,000 types of plants.

On the 37 acres of grounds at Lotusland are gardens representing several landscape design styles, regions of the world, and types of plants. An Australian garden features a grove of eucalyptus trees, while a Japanese garden hosts koi fish ponds, Japanese maple trees, and pine trees sculpted in the niwaki style. Additional types of gardens on the premises include butterfly, topiary, and water gardens, the latter of which is home to the establishment’s renowned Asian lotus and water lily display.

Due to Lotusland’s location in a private neighborhood, those who wish to visit the gardens must make reservations. Paths throughout the grounds are wheelchair-friendly and guests of all ages are welcome on tours.

3. Casa del Herrero

Located on another former estate, the gardens of Casa del Herrero take visitors back to a time referred to colloquially as the “Golden Age of American Gardens.” During this period between the late 19th and mid-20th century, wealthy estate owners expressed their artistic tastes through the creation of expansive gardens surrounding their homes.

The house itself was designed by George Washington Smith, an architect known for employing the Spanish Colonial Revival style in his designs. Before reaching the gardens, guests can view the hand-painted alcora tiles, intricate wood carving, and decorative ironwork that decorate the home’s interior. Outside, visitors can see the extension of Casa del Herrero’s colorful architecture in the garden’s patios and seating.

The main path leads visitors through areas of greenery punctuated by tiled pools and fountains, with secondary trails leading away toward outdoor rooms designed for relaxation. Combining elements of Spanish, Moorish, and European design, the gardens feature a number of native California plants alongside rose bushes, citrus trees, and a variety of multi-colored wildflowers. Additionally, the grounds encompass the Arizona Gardens, which are devoted to cacti and desert succulents.

4. Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden

Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden was built and named in the honor of its benefactress. Located near downtown Santa Barbara, this garden is unique among the others in its provisions for self-guided tours. Pamphlets provided at a kiosk near the entrance record numbered names of plant species, with a corresponding map contained within the booklet. This allows visitors to learn about the plant life they are observing at their own pace.

At the garden’s center is a gazebo that overlooks a pond filled with koi fish and turtles, located near a shaded path that leads to a sundial. Benches line the winding trails and allow visitors a place to sit and enjoy the scenery, while pockets of grass serve as an ideal setting for picnics.

The most recently developed feature on the grounds is the sensory garden, which contains a collection of plant life that is visually dynamic and distinctly tactile. Other plants with intense fragrances also grow in this area of the garden, and talking signs dictate information about the surrounding plant life so that visually impaired visitors can learn about the landscape.

The Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden is open daily from eight in the morning until sunset, and admission is free. Additional special sections of the 4.6 acre-garden include a butterfly garden and a low water-use demonstration garden.

3 Ways Santa Barbara’s First 5 Program Helps Children

In addition to having access to a number of parks, festivals, and museums, young children living in the Santa Barbara, California, area have the benefit of community resources like the First 5 program. Founded upon the theory that the first five years of life are vital to a child’s future physical and mental wellbeing, the First 5 program’s mission is to utilize the tax revenue collected from tobacco sales to fund and sponsor programs and initiatives that enhance the lives of children from birth to five years of age. First 5 concentrates on the following three areas:

1. Better Healthcare

Children without access to adequate healthcare and nutrition have lower rates of growth, higher rates of illness, and more frequent occurrences of psychological and developmental challenges. Part of First 5’s mission involves ensuring that kids from different economic backgrounds get the best possible start in life, and this begins with affordable healthcare options for their families.

First 5 partners with Healthy Kids Santa Barbara, a budget-friendly insurance plan that provides children access to quality medical, dental, and vision care regardless of whether or not they or their parents are United States citizens. To qualify for the program, a child’s family must reside in Santa Barbara County, fall within a specific income spectrum, and not be covered by any other insurance plan. First 5 offers additional coverage for Santa Barbara’s youngest residents through its Early Childhood Oral Health Program, which directs families to affordable screenings and procedures at local clinics and as a part of local preschool programs.

Routine dental and medical checkups contribute to better school attendance and instill positive health habits in children that often last into adulthood. First 5 also focuses on educating parents on how healthy children have greater opportunities to be successful because they are able to study unhindered by the distractions and pains that come with illness.

2. Stronger Families

First 5 also focuses on strengthening family bonds and funds nonprofits that teach parents how to create positive emotional relationships and nurturing environments within the home. Among the organizations that First 5 works with is a local network of Family Resource Centers (FRC). At any FRC, parents can receive counseling, participate in support groups with other parents, and take parental education classes. Additional services include case management consultations, screenings for the early detection of various conditions, and initiatives that aim to protect children and families from abusive living situations.

Another service that First 5 sponsors is the Welcome Every Baby Program, which sends nurses and infant specialists into the homes of new mothers to monitor the health of babies over the course of their first 18 months of life. This program also teaches parents about proper infant care, breastfeeding, and post-partum depression. Beneficiaries of this program additionally receive information about community activities that are designed for infants and their parents.

Strong family ties early in life create immeasurable benefits, but they specifically play a role in a child’s ability to trust, relate to others, and develop self-confidence. The positive family units envisioned by First 5 help create a stable platform upon which children can build their futures.

3. Quality Education

First 5 supports the notion that parents are their children’s first and best teacher, and believes that early learning can set children up for continued success in the educational system and in life. In light of this, the organization provides a collection of informational pages on its website that help educate parents on infant and child development, healthy eating, and early literacy. Many of these pages outline instructions for simple activities that parents can use to help develop their baby’s motor skills, cognitive function, social-emotional growth, and communication abilities.

When a child has no exposure to quality early education, often due to limited economic resources and a lack of affordable preschool availability, he or she may enter the school system at an educational disadvantage. This can set the stage for a host of future academic difficulties.

To address this situation, First 5 helps pre-existing children’s centers adopt guidelines set down by Santa Barbara’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). Adherence to this code helps these centers receive benefits provided by First 5 partner network Quality Counts.

Under Quality Counts, local daycare and centers where children receive early care and education can receive support through stipends for workforce training and funding to achieve accreditation. Additionally, through the Constructing Connections Project, the county brings together professionals in areas like land planning, housing development, and government to find ways to create more childcare spaces in the Santa Barbara area.

4 Ways that Santa Barbara Commits to Water Conservation

For decades, Santa Barbara, California, has been nationally recognized as a city that emphasizes environmental conservation and takes measures to protect its local ecosystem. From its yearly festival celebrating Earth Day to the sustainability education programs developed at UCSB, Santa Barbara continues to look for ways to promote a healthier planet. To build a greener future for itself, the city has committed to the protection of its water sources through the following conservation practices.

1. Stormwater Management

Of all pollutants that affect the health of Santa Barbara’s coastal waters, runoff from city streets inflicts the most damage. After running over the surfaces of roofs, streets, lawns, and vehicles, stormwater picks up contaminants like oil, metals, pesticides, and pet waste before entering storm drains that channel it into the Pacific Ocean via local tributaries.

In order to reduce the pollution caused by urban runoff, the city of Santa Barbara implemented stormwater programs to improve and manage the quality of water that flows into the Santa Barbara Channel, the part of the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of the city. In addition to establishing operational guidelines for businesses through its Stormwater Management Program, Santa Barbara’s local government has also installed catch basin debris screens onto storm drain openings throughout the city. These metal screens are designed to filter trash from runoff before it can pass into the drains.

Additional urban runoff initiatives include the Hope and Haley Storm Drain Diversions, which were constructed in those areas of Santa Barbara identified as high risk for indicator bacteria. Instead of diverting to local streams, these two drains are directed toward a water treatment facility, where runoff during the dry season is treated before it is recirculated into local creeks.

2. Water Quality Monitoring

The city’s commitment to clean water includes not only stormwater management initiatives, but also monitoring programs to ensure its policies are having the desired effect. Tracking and recording water quality data is important because it allows a community to see the results of its various regulations and programs, and determine which areas require improvement.

Santa Barbara takes water protection seriously and sets itself apart through organizations like the nonprofit Santa Barbara Channelkeeper (SBCK), a group that focuses on the monitoring and identification of pollutants flowing into the Santa Barbara Channel. Volunteers with SBCK are taught how to obtain water samples from local streams and creeks and test elements such as temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen, as well as record visual data like algae coverage, clarity, and trash buildup.

Local government benefits from the work of groups like SBCK because it often uses their findings to inform the creation of regulations and initiatives that protect the environment. Santa Barbara County’s Environmental Health Services department also performs weekly testing on local beaches and records the results into a database in order to monitor water quality trends. Additionally, samples collected by the city of Santa Barbara’s water quality monitoring teams are sent to researchers at UCSB, where DNA-based tests are performed in order to determine the sources of microbial contamination.

3. Pollution Prevention

The most effective way to ensure good water quality is pollution prevention, and Santa Barbara does its best to put measures into place to stop pollution before it happens. This is done, in part, through the enforcement of state and county laws that protect local water sources and wildlife. Relevant laws established by the State of California make it unlawful for anyone to deposit waste within 150 feet of a body of water, or to dump sewage, trash, liquids, or other organic matter into lakes, streams, or the ocean.

Locally, Santa Barbara can impose fines and criminal charges on people who discard solid or liquid waste onto city streets, where they may eventually reach a storm drain that connects to a water source. The county also encourages residents to report cases of water pollution or suspected contamination problems via a hotline at 1-877-OUR-OCEAN.

In addition to the development of clean water laws, Santa Barbara also requires local construction projects to be designed and managed in a way that prevents water pollution during and after construction. The city provides contractors with a technical guide as well as control plan templates on the County of Santa Barbara’s Project Clean Water website.

4. Community Involvement

 Many residents of Santa Barbara show their commitment to the environment by making eco-friendly choices in their everyday lives, such as bicycling for transportation and eating locally grown foods. The city also encourages water quality awareness in the community through public education campaigns and other initiatives.

Santa Barbara’s youngest community members learn about the importance of water conservation from an early age by attending field trips to the local Watershed Resource Center and the El Estero Wastewater Treatment Plant. Additionally, a yearly video contest for high school students is held in Santa Barbara County that awards cash prizes for students who produce the most creative and informative videos on water conservation in the area.

The city is also among California’s most successful in exceeding water conservation goals set by the state government in an effort to combat drought conditions. The community’s receptiveness to planting drought-tolerant landscaping, installing low-flow toilets and showerheads, and receiving free water checkups from utility agencies has helped the city achieve a 22 percent decrease in water usage over the past two years, making it a state-wide leader in reducing water use.

5 Santa Barbara Festivals worth Traveling to See

Santa Barbara is nationally known for its commitment to sustainability, its eclectic local culture, and its temperate coastal climate. With a community that places an emphasis on public support for art, the city is a prime location for celebrations of creativity and environmental mindfulness. It’s not surprising then to find out that Santa Barbara plays host to some of California’s most lively and entertaining yearly festivals.

For residents and visitors alike, the following events are worth a visit:

1. Old Spanish Days Fiesta

Although it was originally settled by the Chumash Indians thousands of years ago, Santa Barbara’s history is largely colored by the influence of Spanish, Mexican, and early American settlers, whose beliefs and customs blended to give the city its diverse, multicultural heritage. The Old Spanish Days Fiesta, a week-long celebration of Santa Barbara’s Spanish heritage, also provides spectators with many opportunities to learn about the individual groups that settled the area. Among the fiesta’s attractions are numerous flamenco dance performances, open-air Mexican markets, a professional rodeo, and a special exhibit hosted by the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.

via dentistas-en-mis-noches

For more than 90 years, the highlight of the festival has been its Fiesta Historical Parade. The parade features local civic groups, antique carriages, more than 600 horses, and vibrantly-colored floats that depict scenes from history. The parade is also known for its promotion of “cascarones,” which are hollowed-out eggs filled with paper confetti that guests good-naturedly crack open over the heads of friends and family.

2. Summer Solstice Celebration

Held every June since 1974, the Summer Solstice Celebration, aims to bring people together to celebrate the arts. The event is reminiscent of a mild Mardi Gras celebration, though special areas are designed specifically with children in mind. Each year, more than 100,000 visitors from around the world come to enjoy the event’s live music, dance performances, and art exhibitions.

On the longest day of the year, more than 1,000 people don elaborate costumes to take part in the Summer Solstice Parade, in which dancers, costumed figures, and floats journey through the streets of downtown Santa Barbara. Local artists also submit art work to the event in order to compete for a chance to be featured on the festival’s yearly Summer Solstice Celebration shirt. The art work is centered on the festival’s theme, which changes each year. Themes from past years include “jungle,” “fantasy,” and “circus.”

3. Harbor and Seafood Festival

Santa Barbara’s proximity to the coast means ample access to fresh seafood. To support local fisherman while also drawing attention to the care and protection of marine life, the city presents a Harbor and Seafood Festival at the beginning of lobster season in October. In addition to hundreds of vendors selling a variety of fresh seafood, the festival also includes boating demonstrations, dockside tours of ships, live music performances, and many other nautical activities for the whole family, such as tours of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum’s Tall Ship and a sea creature petting zoo.

4. Santa Barbara International Film Festival

In the spring, nearly 100,000 film industry professionals and aficionados from across the globe flock to Santa Barbara in order to take part in the city’s International Film Festival. The 11-day event showcases more than 200 qualifying films from different categories, including full-length features, shorts, documentaries, fiction films, and local pieces. Each year, the festival begins with an Opening Night Gala—a public function where guests dance, eat, and enjoy live entertainment at the Spanish Paseo Nuevo, which is intricately decorated for the occasion.

In addition to film showings, guests can observe industry panels with renowned writers, directors, and producers. Parents and their children can attend the AppleBox presentation of family-oriented films, complete with complimentary popcorn and refreshments.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is also known for its prestigious award presentations, such as the David Attenborough Award for Excellence in Nature Filmmaking, the Montecito Award, and the Maltin Modern Master Award, which is the festival’s most prestigious honor. Past recipients of the Maltin Modern Master Award include Christopher Plummer, Clint Eastwood, Cate Blanchett, and James Cameron.

5. Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival

The city’s commitment to environmental responsibility is evident in its yearly Earth Day celebration. Held in the expansive Alameda Park, the two-day festival highlights the importance of green living through an eco-marketplace, filled with vendors that promote different forms of sustainability. Kids can join Snook, the giant sloth, as he leads the Children’s Climate March, which ends at the festival’s main stage. Activities and speakers help teach people of all ages the importance of caring for the planet.

Adults may be interested in attending the event’s green car show, or learning about the area’s local food movement, which seeks to help Santa Barbara residents incorporate farm-to-table practices into their own lives. Additionally, the festival presents its Environmental Hero Award to an environmental conservation innovator. Previous winners include Bill Nye and Elon Musk.