Community Environmental Council Opens Enrollment for Spring Climate Stewards Program
Central Coast residents invited to join Spring 2026 climate action training
SANTA BARBARA, Calif (March 27, 2026) – The Community Environmental Council (CEC) opened enrollment for the Spring 2026 Climate Stewards certification course to engage, inspire, and activate individuals on the Central Coast to join the climate movement.
Fostering local climate leaders has never been more important, as federal environmental protection rollbacks and renewed fossil fuel development threaten to undo years of progress. CEC, a non-profit delivering local environmental solutions for more than 50 years, teaches this UC-certified course to help anyone — students, teachers, retirees, professionals, and more — turn their eco-anxiety into meaningful action. Participants will leave the course with a robust set of environmental advocacy skills, a greater understanding of the psychology and science behind climate change, and a new community of motivated changemakers for ongoing collaboration.
“Our community is feeling the growing weight of the climate crisis,” said Kathi King, Course Instructor and CEC’s Director of Education and Operations. “From intensifying natural disasters to the return of offshore oil production along our coastline, the stakes are becoming impossible to ignore. The Climate Stewards program turns that concern into action by empowering people with the skills and connections to shape a safer climate future for our communities and our planet.”
The class will meet via Zoom on Wednesday evenings from April 15 through June 3, with a few in-person field trips that showcase regional environmental solutions interspersed throughout. The Spring 2026 cohort will have the opportunity to visit Refugio State Beach on a guided experience led by a State Park staff member who is also a Climate Stewards alum. The course curriculum includes online modules, peer-to-peer discussions, and hands-on activities, as well as a Stewardship Project that allows participants to incubate their own environmental initiatives. In past cohorts, many alumni continued projects after the course and succeeded in adding climate programs to foundations, non-profits, city governments, and retirement communities.
For example, Carley Brandau, a Fall 2025 alumna, turned her passion for fashion, climate action, and community engagement into a Stewardship Project centered on sustainable textiles. Inspired by local repair fairs and a desire to address the environmental impacts of oversonsumption, Carley founded Thread Odyssey, a non-profit that uses hands-on textile education to teach climate awareness. For her Stewardship Project, she created an all-ages short film for her non-profit that traces the evolution of garments and highlights people and practices resisting excess waste.
“I often feel emotional when talking about climate change, and going into the Climate Stewards course, I thought of this as a weakness,” Carley said. “Now, I know how to communicate my values effectively, find common ground, and turn climate anxiety into community-powered change.”
The course fee is $360 and covers part of the cost of instructor time, field trips, and UC Environmental Stewards program fees. CEC scholarships that cover half of the program fees are available to Central Coast residents who express financial need. Additionally, nine full scholarships are available for K-12 teachers in Santa Barbara County to support teachers to build climate into curricula.
Learn more about CEC's Climate Stewards program and sign up here: cec.pub/climate-stewards-spring-26
About the Community Environmental Council (CEC)
CEC advances rapid, equitable solutions to the climate crisis, including transitioning to 100% clean energy and transportation, promoting climate-smart agriculture and regenerative food systems, reducing waste and single-use plastics, and strengthening community resilience. CEC also leads innovative programs such as the Climate Stewards certification, which equips Central Coast residents to take meaningful local climate action, and operates the Environmental Hub in downtown Santa Barbara as a center for public engagement and collaboration.
Recognized as a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year and a City of Santa Barbara Climate Hero, CEC is led by CEO Sigrid Wright, named 2022 Congressional Woman of the Year. Learn more about CEC’s impacts at CECSB.org/impact.
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