Environmental Affairs Board (EAB)

INTRODUCTION

Environmental Affairs Board (EAB) is a branch of UCSB’s Associated Students and is the largest environmental group on campus.  EAB strives to protect, preserve and enhance the environment, principally at UCSB and its surrounding communities.  The board focuses on ecology, energy, food, climate change, water policy and conservation, the economy, environmental justice and other issues.  It coordinates with other groups to promote environmental perspectives and sustainability throughout the university and at the local and statewide levels. Click here for a video letting you know what EAB is all about and some of the things they worked on this year.

THE YEAR IN EAB

Fall Kick Off Meeting

EAB began the year with a kick off event to spread the word about the work they do and get more people involved.

Pardall Carnival

Joining a plethora of A.S. and other groups EAB tabled a the annual Pardall Carnival. The carnival has become a beginning-of-the-year outreach event to the local community with activities for adults and children alike.

Bike to Farmer’s Market

Partnering with the AS Bike Committee, EAB hosted a bike trip to the weekly Goleta Farmers Market in the El Camino shopping center in October. The goal is to give students access to healthy food options.

EAB Hikes

EAB hosted weekly hikes to the Santa Barbara front and backcountry, including Lizard’s Mouth, Rattlesnake Canyon, the Gaviota Wind Caves, Nojoqui Fall, Gaviota Peak, Grass Mountain, Knapp’s Castle, and more. What better way to get to know the local environment and quite possibly make some life long friends?

Green Chef Events

EAB presented Green Chef events each quarter to encourage students to cook in a more eco-friendly, sustainable way. They also provided opportunities to share some very tasty dishes.

Museum of Natural History Field Trip

In January EAB took a trip to the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. The museum houses a wealth of specimens, historical artifacts, and general information about our local environment and history, ranging from sea life to the critters big and small that inhabit Santa Barbara County’s rugged backcountry. It’s collections also offer insights into human interactions with the surrounding natural world, beginning with the native Chumash to European settlement to the present.

Fossil Free UCSB

EAB members marched in solidarity with Fossil Free UCSB to demand that the UCs divest from companies supporting the Dakota Access Pipeline and strive to reduce the UC’s dependence on fossil fuels.

IV Food Co-op Tour

The IV Food Co-op has been a leader in sustainability and food best practices from farm to table for over 40 years. It has fed countless students and community members. It has also received support from A.S. over the years, including a loan to help buy the building the Co-op had leased for most of its existence. In February EAB visited to “Talk, Tour, and Taste.” They invited students to “hang out with EAB at the IV Food Co-op for a tour highlighting some of the local, organic, and sustainable options that they carry. Taste some yummy treats and meet some cool people!”

Food for Freedom Event

UC Sustain Our Students along with EAB, the Isla Vista Recreation & Park District, A.S. Finance and Business, and A.S. Program Board held the Food for Freedom Fair at Anisq’Oyo’ Park in February. The well-attended event offered not only free food, but also speeches on food justice and  information on various organizations and food resources around campus.

Speakers at the event included Aaron Ableman, Ocil Herrejon, Laura Lora, Osunkoya Bryant, Unique Vance, Rose Houska and a representative from Swipe Out Hunger. The IV Food Co-op provided information and the A.S. Food Bank had Nutri-Grain bars on offer. Other groups tabling included UC Global Food Initiative, Department of Public Worms, Student Health, Gaucho Certified Farmers Market, UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative, Women, Gender & Social Equity Department, Educational Opportunity Program, CalFresh, Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division, Isla Vista Tenants Union, Transfer Student Center, Zero Waste Committee, and Swipe Out Hunger.

These kinds of events provide students and the local community with connections to resources that can have a real impact on their lives. It’s also another way to bring students together with the significant non-student community in Isla Vista.

Rally Against Dirty Oil in Santa Barbara

EAB joined with Food & Water Watch, CALPIRG, Fossil Free UCSB, Climate Justice Hub, and the Santa Barbara Student Activist Network for an on-campus rally against oil drilling in Santa Barbara County. The goal is to keep Santa Barbara healthy and beautiful, and keep oil wells off our land and out of our oceans. In addition, all of these organization want to let our elected officials know that they support a transition to 100% renewable energy. The Santa Barbara Independent reported on the event, click here.

Photo by Samantha Bean of the Santa Barbara Independent

Pop Up Thrift Store

With the approach of spring, EAB encouraged folks to do some spring cleaning. Here’s the way they put it on their Facebook site:

Do you have gently used clothing, school supplies, or random knick knacks that you’re trying to get rid of? Do you live in a dorm or hang out at the UCen? Do you care about the environment? Can you breathe?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the Pop-Up Thrift Shop hosted by the Environmental Affairs Board is what you’re looking for!

From now until February 24th, donate clean, gently used clothing (please no underwear) and small items in donation boxes located in the UCen lobby and at the front desks of these halls:
-Santa Cruz
-Anacapa
-Santa Rosa
-San Miguel
-San Nicolas
-San Rafael
-Santa Catalina (South)

Zero Waste Festival

EAB participated in the Zero Waste Committe’s Zero Waste Festival during spring quarter. Here’s what it was all about. No wonder EAB was onboard!

*Repairs *Food *Music *Movies *Art *Upcycling *DIY *Knowledge

Repair Fair: 11 AM – 5 PM
Tabling of campus orgs: 11 AM – 4 PM
What to Do, How to Live: Personal Activism for a Threatened Planet (Patagonia Speaker Panel) : 6 PM – 8 PM
Speaker Panel Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/791927910955622/

AS Zero Waste Committee is teaming up with the Post Landfill Action Network (PLAN) and Patagonia, Inc. to participate in Patagonia’s Worn Wear Tour. Extending the life of our garments is an important step to lowering our impact on the planet. In keeping our clothing in use longer, we reduce overall consumption. Patagonia is setting off on a cross country mission to encourage consumers to make their clothes last a lifetime. As part of the tour, Patagonia is bringing repair staff on the road to offer free repairs on busted zippers, rips, tears, buttons and more-in addition to teaching people how to fix their own gear.

With the help of PLAN, UCSB is lucky enough to have been chosen as a host campus for the Worn Wear Wagon. Zero Waste Committee is not only promoting longer lasting clothes, but hosting an all-day Repair Fair! Come repair your shattered cell phones screens, your broken gaming consoles, the holes in your favorite sweater, all for free!

We’d like to thank the following companies and campus organizations for taking part in the Zero Waste Festival. Come check them out during the tabling session of the Repair Fair!

– Adopt A Block (learn how you can give back to the beauty of Isla Vista!)
– Calfresh (learn about their great social programs running in the UCSB community!)
-AS Bike Shop (bring your bike for free assessment!)
– Department Of Public Worms at UCSB (hang out with worm wranglers!)
– UCSB EAB (play games and win prizes on their trivia wheel, sponsored by Kleen Kanteen!)
– iFixit.com(learn how to repair your busted electronics, such as cell phones, laptops, tablets and gaming consoles)
– Imlak’Esh Organics (free samples of ethically sourced superfood!)
– Isla Vista Food Co-op (make your own trail mix from our local favorite!)
– Isla Vista Surfrider (learn about board and wetsuit repair!)
-Patagonia Worn Wear (fixing all your clothes, whatever the brand!)
– Plastic Solutions at UCSB
-Student Action Council for the Eradication of Poverty and Inequality (SACEPI): learn about social and environmental sustainability issues at the local and global level, and how choosing everyday products matter
– Associated Students Recycling at UCSB (bring your old t-shirts and turn them into bags!)
– UCSB Zero Waste Committee (learn how to make your own cosmetics!)

Everyone is welcome! We hope you’ll join us for this grand event!

Still not hyped enough? We’ll be hosting two film screenings in the days prior to Zero Waste Fest!

Check out Death by Design here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1029701627163024/

and The True Cost here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1801895700136131/

PLAN: The Post-Landfill Action Network #wornwear #MyLastTrash

Town Hall With Country Supervisor Joan Hartmann

In April EAB hosted a town hall in the UCSB Multicultural Center with Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann, where anyone could ask questions about environmental, political, or social issues. Considering Joan’s extensive background in environmental planning the event was an excellent opportunity to learn more about our area and its environmental challenges.

Town Hall With Congressman Salud Carbajal

The subtitle of this town hall hosted by EAB is “On the Environment, Immigration, and Higher Education.” And yes, they’re all related! Newly elected Congressman and Representative of our 24th congressional district Salud Carbajal addressed all of these issues and more.

Earth Day in Isla Vista!

EAB’s biggest event of the year was the Earth Day celebration in Anisq ‘Oyo’ Park, which is always a highlight of the year in IV. The festival featured life music with several local bands, Hedgehog in the Fog Band, The Walters, This is Napoleon?, Box the Oxford, The Six Sevens, and Clean Spill. 25+ UCSB organizations tabled to provide information. There was also yoga, art, succulents for sale, face painting, and a DIY coffee exfoliator demo.

Onward and Upward

Indeed it was a great year in the life of EAB in terms of activities and support for other student initiatives and groups! More to come as the Environmental Affairs Board engages students and makes a difference in our campus and local communities.