Tag archives: CEC
How appropriate that a Funk Zone locale dubbed the Bakery Block raised a lot of dough when the Community Environmental Council hosted its annual Green Gala for 250 guests raising more than $100,000 to help its work in protecting California’s Central Coast from the climate crisis. The boffo bash, co-chaired by Carolyn Fitzgerald, Katy Powers, […]
Santa Barbara’s Community Environmental Council hosted its annual Green Gala for more than 200 guests at its new 10,000-square-foot Environmental Hub on State Street, just a tiara’s toss from the Granada Theatre. The handsome property, formerly the home of the Unity Shoppe, underwent a major $3.5 million renovation, with the boffo bash, which brings together […]
On July 6th, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) celebrated the grand opening of its highly anticipated Environmental Hub. Located at 1219 State Street, this 10,000-square-foot space is set to revolutionize the way Santa Barbara approaches environmental initiatives, fostering collaboration, innovation, and community engagement. With its roots tracing back to the devastating 1969 oil spill, the […]
Santa Barbara nonprofit Community Environmental Council has long been on the forefront of the environmental movement ever since its founding more than 50 years ago. Among its groundbreaking accomplishments in those early decades, CEC founded one of the nation’s first ecology centers, as well as the first learning and research community gardens. CEC was instrumental […]
The two of us have joined forces with many others in our community on a clear mission. We are running a race to protect a fundamental aspect of life on Earth: a safe, livable climate. A year ago, we heard the global community of scientists issue an unequivocal alarm bell by deeming our climate crisis […]
Entering the Santa Barbara Club this summer, I met with the newly elected Montecito Association member, Stan Roden – a former Santa Barbara County District Attorney now working as a climate ambassador and filmmaker. Having heard of his interest in guiding the community towards more sustainable and resilient practices, especially amidst the ever-growing environment turmoil, […]
Everything seems to move quickly these days, but the speed of growth and expansion of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN) is fast enough to turn heads. It was just six years ago that the Community Environmental Council and the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County created the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan […]
It would be nearly impossible to list the many unique features of Santa Barbara County that differentiate us from other places across the country. In contrast to all the incredible positive attributes, I recently learned of one startling distinction that may surprise you: our county is one of the fastest-warming places in the nation. According […]
Santa Barbara Historical Museum’s courtyard suffered major social gridlock when the Community Environmental Council hosted its spring fundraiser Metamorphosis: An Emergence with 250 guests raising more than $60,000. The boffo bash, a smaller affair than the organization’s annual Green Gala at The Lark, was co-chaired by board member Carolyn Fitzgerald and executive director Sigrid Wright […]
With Earth Day 2021 rolling around just a week after the publication date of this issue of the Montecito Journal, you’d think the big three-day festival would be all anybody at the Community Environmental Council (CEC) would want to talk about. After all, it was a nascent CEC that organized Santa Barbara’s first Earth Day […]
Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace USA, is the recipient of the Santa Barbara’s Community Environmental Council’s 2021 Environmental Hero Award. “Her work exemplifies what it means to build the broad, boots-on-the-ground base of activism that we need to go all in together on the climate crisis,” says the CEC executive director Sigrid Wright, who […]
Food is such a basic human need, but as the COVID-19 pandemic has so sharply illustrated, despite our region’s bounty, our ever more complex food supply chain is not something we can take for granted. In 2016, Santa Barbara County stakeholders (including the CEC) completed a comprehensive, community-driven strategic plan that provided recommendations for how […]
A record sell-out crowd of 300 guests descended on Sherry Villanueva‘s Funk Zone eatery The Lark for the 48-year-old Community Environmental Council’s ninth annual Green Gala, raising more than $125,000 for the cause. The boffo bash, lavishly decorated in green hues, was co-chaired by Carolyn Fitzgerald, Leanne Schlinger Diebolt, and Elizabeth Wagner, with the ubiquitous […]
The 2nd annual Explore Ecology Environmental Stewardship Award Winners were honored April 21 at the Earth Day event downtown alongside the Community Environmental Council’s winners, filmmakers from SeaLegacyand writer Florencia Ramirez. Congressman Salud Carbajal presented awards after his opening ceremony senate updates. Montecito singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, with his daughter, Hana, and his band performed a […]
