Climate Leadership
CEC Climate Stewards attended a field trip with the MiniNature Reserve in Oxnard to remove invasive ice plants and learn how restoring native plants protects against climate impacts. Photo by Jhana Studio
Our Vision
With the increase in catastrophic climate events, we need more people to take an active role in protecting our communities. CEC is building networks of diverse, engaged activists who are equipped to champion rigorous climate action in their neighborhoods, businesses, and homes. Together, we can move at the unprecedented pace required to reverse, repair, and protect against climate threats.
“If each of us takes up the cause in our respective community, we have the power to move everyone toward a climate-safe future.”
Phil Clarke,
CEC Climate Steward,
Community Sustainability Advocate
HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION
Join our on-the-ground corps of local climate volunteers
CEC’s Climate Stewards course guides participants toward understanding the psychology and science behind climate change while building greater community connections and teaching what we can do as individuals. Participants who complete all course requirements become certified Climate Stewards.
Attend a Free
Public Event
CEC’s Environmental Hub hosts monthly free public events and CEC participates in dozens of festivals, summits, and workshops every year, offering a variety of ways to get inspired. View our events calendar and sign up for email alerts to stay in the loop on upcoming in-person and virtual events.
Attend Our Next Youth Climate Workshop
Students in sixth through twelfth grade interested in taking bold climate action are invited to join CEC staff, CEC Climate Steward alumni, and community leaders for this free workshop on how to communicate about and take action on climate change. Workshops incorporate art, discussion, guest speakers, and more. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to be alerted about the next workshop.
Host an Event at CEC’s Environmental Hub
Located in the heart of Santa Barbara’s ARTS District, The Hub offers a beautiful, sustainably designed, modular space for gatherings of all kinds – receptions, parties, conferences, summits, workshops, film screenings, and more. Every booking supports the Community Environmental Council’s work to implement rapid and equitable solutions to the climate crisis. Book The Hub for your next event and take climate action with us.
WHAT CEC
IS DOING
Training a corps of citizen climate volunteers
Through our Climate Stewards certification course and Youth Climate Workshops, CEC is equipping current and future climate leaders with the skills and tools needed to take climate action now. We teach the Climate Stewards course through a partnership with the University of California Office of Agriculture and Natural Resources. This certification program aims to build a committed corps of local climate volunteers. Through coursework and hands-on experience, individuals prepare to effectively engage in transformative local solutions to the climate crisis. Similarly, our Youth Climate Workshops, designed for students in sixth through twelfth grade, empower the next generation to communicate about and take action on climate issues affecting their community.
Cultivating community at The Hub
Opened in 2023, CEC’s Environmental Hub was designed to be an epicenter of inspiration, innovation, collaboration, and community-led action. We host regular film screenings, lectures, and other free public gatherings to inspire and engage community members. View The Hub events calendar and sign up for email alerts to stay in the loop on upcoming happenings.
Bringing together diverse voices
CEC is sparking innovative climate action through programming on the Climate Action Stage at our Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival and through free monthly education and community events at our Environmental Hub.
Leadership Spotlight
Building Resilient Communities Now for the Disasters of Tomorrow
CEC is training hundreds of community members to stand up for climate action and push forward thousands of solutions, one neighborhood at a time. This groundswell of community-led activism helps ensure that everyone is protected and prepared for the impacts of climate change and that no one is left behind.
Phil and Lora are demonstrating that anyone can be a steward of climate solutions and help protect our communities from climate change. Photo by Ingrid Bostrom.
Phil and Lora Clarke are lifelong environmental advocates who wanted to help make their Valle Verde retirement community more sustainable — and inspire fellow residents to join them in their efforts. After hearing about the Community Environmental Council’s Climate Stewards certification, Phil enrolled in the course to learn more about the climate crisis and get access to resources and networks that would help them take action.
Collaborating with neighbors, the Clarkes have implemented plastic reduction measures, planted gardens, advocated for an EV charging station, and helped plan green technology upgrades such as solar panels, battery storage, and energy-efficient appliances. Their activism inspired a coalition of residents from multiple retirement communities under Valle Verde’s parent company to meet regularly to push similar climate solutions forward at other campuses.
The Clarkes are just one example of more than 200 CEC Climate Steward alumni who are leading environmental initiatives in their neighborhoods, homeowners associations, churches, schools, museums, and community-based spaces where they have influence. “If each of us takes up the cause in our respective community, we have the power to move everyone toward a climate-safe future,” said Phil.
“If each of us takes up the cause in our respective community, we have the power to move everyone toward a climate-safe future.”
Phil Clarke,
CEC Climate Steward,
Community Sustainability Advocate
