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Community Environmental Council (CEC) — Final Call: Spring Climate Stewards Course starts this Wednesday!

by Community Contributor • April 13, 2026 • Comments Off

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The Spring Climate Stewards Course starts this Wednesday.

Your Community Needs Climate Leaders — Are You In?

Wednesdays, April 15 through June 3, 2026

6:30 – 8:30 p.m. PDT via Zoom

(Plus occasional weekends for in-person field trips)

The Central Coast is counting on people like you to step up for a climate-safe future. CEC’s Climate Stewards Certification Program, in partnership with the University of California Environmental Stewards program, gives you the tools to launch and lead climate solutions in your neighborhood.Starting this Wednesday, April 15, join a cohort of community members, professionals, students, and retirees who are done waiting on the sidelines and ready to lead.

Over eight weeks, you’ll build a practical foundation for real climate action. You’ll explore the science and psychology behind climate change, sharpen the communication skills needed to move people from awareness to action, and develop connections with a community of changemakers. The program culminates in a personalized Stewardship Project — your chance to take what you’ve learned and apply it somewhere that matters to you, whether that’s your neighborhood, your workplace, your school, or your backyard.

CEC is the first and only nonprofit on the California Central Coast to offer this certification. Sessions take place Wednesdays, April 15 through June 3, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. PDT via Zoom, with select weekends reserved for in-person field trips that bring the learning to life. Spots are limited and there are only two days left to register. Claim yours now and start making an impact.

Join our next Climate Stewards course that begins

Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

Know someone who’d be interested in joining you?
Forward this email to a friend or colleague.

Anyone can be a Climate Steward!

“I saw the Climate Stewards Course as an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and deepen my understanding of how to effectively communicate the importance of rethinking our food systems in the face of climate change.”

– Ada Ellisman, Rural Climate Fellow

While serving as a GrizzlyCorps fellow with UC Berkeley and White Buffalo Land Trust, Climate Steward alum Ada Ellisman found a way to merge her passions for regenerative agriculture and avian conservation.

For her Stewardship Project, Ada installed western bluebird nest boxes around the vineyard at Jalama Canyon Ranch, supporting native bird populations and promoting natural pest control. Inspired by her work with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society and the Coal Oil Point Reserve, where she monitored nest boxes and banded birds, her goal was to use viticulture as a practical entry point to address the loss of bird habitat driven by agricultural development.

For Ada, the Climate Stewards course meant finding the words to make people care — connecting her scientific fieldwork to the broader community conversations that turn awareness into action. Ada continues to champion climate-smart land practices that foster biodiversity and build resilient food systems, using skills from the course to communicate complex environmental issues with clarity and impact.

Meet more of our alumni

Course Details

Next Cohort: Spring 2026, April 15 – June 3

Format: Online classes via Zoom and in-person field trips

Frequency: Classes on Wednesdays: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. PDT; three to four field trips on weekends: two hours plus travel time

Cost: $360; 50% scholarships are available to Central Coast residents who express financial need. For 2026: nine scholarships are available for K-12 teachers in Santa Barbara County.

Know a teacher who would benefit from this course?
? Share this opportunity

Instructor: Kathi King

Teaching Assistant: Maeve Merwin

Other Opportunities

Help Us Plan For an Upcoming Blood Drive

We’re planning a blood drive in partnership with Vitalant and want to gauge interest from our community. If you are interested in donating, please take a moment to fill out this Google Form — this isn’t a commitment, but will help us determine how many donors we can expect. Your participation could help save lives!

Become a Resilience Hub and Help Your Community Prepare for Disasters

The California Central Coast faces growing challenges from extreme heat, wildfire smoke, flooding, and poor air quality. Community resilience hubs — trusted local spaces like schools, libraries, community centers, and churches — can provide aid and resources before, during, and after these events. CEC can help activate your site to:

Provide clean air during smoke events
Act as cooling locations during extreme heat
Distribute food
Serve as an emergency shelter or hub for emergency services
Facilitate disaster preparedness training and neighborhood organizing
Host off-grid charging during power outages or shutdowns

Learn more about Community Resilience Hubs, take our short survey, and use our toolkit to get started today.

Other Upcoming Events

Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival

Saturday – Sunday, April 25 – 26, 2026

Alameda Park

1400 Santa Barbara St., Santa Barbara

Now in its 56th year, the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival is among the longest-running Earth Day celebrations in the nation and one of the largest on the West Coast.

The event draws more than 30,000 attendees and 150+ eco-friendly exhibitors for a vibrant weekend jam packed with live music and speakers, a robust Green Car Show, a plant-forward food court and beer garden, and family-friendly programming. Join us for CEC’s Environmental Heroes Award Ceremony on Sunday, April 26, at noon to honor Unite to Light’s Megan Birney Rudert and Assemblymember Gregg Hart. Presented by the Community Environmental Council and CarpEvents. Learn more.

Register to exhibit.

Sign up to volunteer.

Become a sponsor.

First Thursday with CEC and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

Thursday, May 7, 2026

5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

CEC’s Environmental Hub

1219 State St., Santa Barbara

Join the Community Environmental Council (CEC) and the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden for an evening celebrating native plants and local biodiversity. Enjoy a short film, a panel discussion, and guided tours of the new State Street planters, along with light refreshments. As the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden marks its 100th anniversary — celebrating a century as the first U.S. botanic garden dedicated exclusively to native plants — this event will highlight the importance of native plant stewardship and share opportunities to get involved. Come learn, connect with your community, and discover how you can help grow a more resilient, climate-ready California. Learn more and register.

Support Critical Work Like This

Recognized as a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year and a City of Santa Barbara Climate Hero, CEC is led by CEO Sigrid Wright, 2022 Congressional Woman of the Year. See our most recent impact reportto learn how we are serving California’s Central Coast by advancing rapid and equitable solutions to the climate crisis.