Tag archives: Explore Ecology
With summer winding down and winter storms ahead, local trail organizations are turning their attention to maintenance, restoration and volunteer recruitment throughout the Montecito area. The Old Romero Road Trail, closed since 2023 following storm damage, received a month of work in August from the Los Padres National Forest Association Trail Crew, Montecito Trails Foundation […]
The 10th annual Environmental Steward Awards by Explore Ecology were presented at an informal luncheon on Thursday, April 16, at the Cabrillo Pavilion for the second year in a row. The awards were established in 2016 by EE Executive Director Lindsay Johnson and Marketing/Communications Director Jill Cloutier and coincided with the annual SB Earth Day […]
Explore Ecology invites everyone to submit their nominations for an Environmental Steward Award online by January 31. Categories are: Teacher Award, Grades Preschool to 6th grade Teacher Award, Grades 7th to 12th Class or Club Award, Grades Preschool to 12th Student Award, Grades Preschool to 6th Student Award, Grades 7th to 12th School Support Staff, […]
The Montecito Fire Protection District is taking applications for a Fire Chief. Responsibilities and job requirements are posted on the website, see 411. 411: www.montecitofire.com/fire-chief Carp-Summerland FPD Chief Retires The Carp-Summerland Fire Protection District announced the retirement of Fire Chief Robert Kovach, who has served 15 years with them for a total of 40 years […]
The SCAPE artist group, aka Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment, held its annual juried exhibit in Lehman Hall at the Music Academy of the West Montecito (MAW) on Friday, September 12 – Saturday, September 13. The artists participating in the show render original works depicting the Central Coast of California, local landscapes created […]
The International All Volunteer Coastal Cleanup Day is Saturday, September 20. Locally, Explore Ecology heads its operations for Santa Barbara County beaches. In Montecito, Youth leader Pyp Pratt, 17, will once again be stationed at Butterfly Beach with his dad Paul to lead the volunteers and manage the cleanup. At Hammonds Beach (end of Eucalyptus […]
Santa Barbara County has crowned its grand prize winner in the 2025 WaterWise Garden Recognition Contest: Teri and Pat Guillies of Montecito. Their vibrant, eco-conscious garden, dubbed a “pollinators’ dream,” captured top honors for its dazzling display of over 65% California native plants, including sagebrush, blue-eyed grass, island buckwheat, and more. Designed and maintained by […]
Explore Ecology (EE) held its 1st Annual Environmental Stewardship Awards Luncheon fundraiser at the Cabrillo Pavilion on Thursday, April 17. The luncheon comes as the next level in the humble nonprofit’s work since establishing the awards in 2016. EE Executive Director Lindsay Johnson and Marketing/Communications Director Jill Cloutier are the founders of the annual awards, […]
The Community Environmental Council’s Santa Barbara Earth Day festival – one of the longest-running such celebrations in the country – has become a massive two-day event full of exhibitors, speeches, music, workshops and more. The green extravaganza doesn’t arrive until the last weekend of the month, but given our history as the arguable birthplace of […]
On March 14th, the Senate passed a continuing resolution for fiscal year 2025, providing funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through September 2025. On the evening of March 14th, President Trump then ordered that the IMLS – the singular federal agency dedicated to funding library services – “be eliminated to the […]
The Kindred Collective at UCSB invites parents and caregivers of Black children to attend their free event, “Raising Liberated Black Youth,” on March 15, from 1-3 pm. This is a support program for parents and caregivers. Food and childcare are provided. Where: Pat O’Malley Fieldhouse and Community Room at Girsh Park, 7050 Phelps Road Contact: […]
Join the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) at their 14th Annual Gratitude Luncheon, March 6, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Belmond El Encanto. The annual event is hosted by Anne Smith Towbes. Keynote Speaker is Bill Pintard, Executive Director and Field Manager of SB Foresters Hugs for Cubs. Towbes has […]
Not sure what to gift this season? How about making a few of your own? Check out the craft classes coming up at Explore Ecology! There is a Furoshiki workshop on December 4 led by Emily Adams. There is a candle making workshop with Claire Giroux on December 14. Giving up on the holiday spirit? […]
It’s time to put on your Environmental Hat and join in the 40th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day for our town’s beaches, an all-volunteer all ages effort. The date is Saturday, September 21 from 9 am to 12 pm. Sign up online or show up at one of our town’s local beaches listed here: Butterfly Beach: […]
The Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment, SCAPE, held the opening of their fall fundraiser exhibition – titled Central Coast Reflections – at the Music Academy’s Lehmann Hall on Friday, September 13. There were over sixty artists contributing approximately 150 works of art focused on the natural environment of the Central Coast. Artists worked […]
This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Coastal Clean Up Day, and the team at Explore Ecology is putting out the call for volunteers early this year to celebrate it. Your trusty Our Town news reporter, Joanne A Calitri, has been covering this event for years, and shares, “It is such a worthwhile and time-well-spent […]
Congratulations to the Explore Ecology (EE) Annual Environmental Steward 2024 Award winners, officially celebrated on Sunday, April 28, at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival onstage in the Kids Corner. Each year, the EE group invites the public to submit their nominations for these important award categories of local schools and clubs. The EE team […]
Heralding its fifth year for Open Call Environmental Hero Nominees, Explore Ecology is inviting everyone to submit their nominations for 2024 by April 1via the online form. I reached out to Explore Ecology’s PR Director Jill Cloutier, about this year’s awards and the importance of it for the organization. She explained, “We are thrilled to […]
Explore Ecology’s (EE) Annual Sustainable Table Fundraiser was held for the first time since 2019 on Thursday, October 26, at the Cabrillo Pavilion. The lucky 120 guests were treated to an extraordinary dinner event that was warm and welcoming, with many longtime friends of the organization reuniting. Seen at the event were EE’s Art from […]
Imagine an artistic hub in downtown Santa Barbara brimming with materials, tools, ideas, and creativity, a curated and dynamic gathering space where community members are welcome to imagine, invent, create and collaborate, all in an ecologically friendly way. That’s the idea behind a new vision for the Art From Scrap (AFS) workshop as a permanent […]
