INTRODUCTION
The charge of the Environmental Affairs Board is to promote environmental, social, political, and economic sustainability. The Board serves UC Santa Barbara and the surrounding communities by coordinating with decision makers, local organizations, and student groups to advocate for improvements to environmental standards at the local, national and global level. Additionally, the Board provides students with environmental education and encourages a culture of eco-friendly habits in order to shape their lives at UCSB and beyond.
ANNUAL KICK OFF
EAB started the year with its Annual Kickoff in the Hub! Inviting students with a rousing, ATTENTION ALL GAUCHOS! Are you interested in joining one of the largest environmental groups on campus? Do you like going on nature packed adventures while making new friends? As in years past, EAB mixed environmental activism with fun activities, including exploration of the many wilderness areas in our Santa Barbara backcountry.
EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
Each May EAB hosts the Earth Day celebration in Anisq ‘Oyo’ Park in Isla Vista. With the arrival of COVID 19 this always fun festival had to be canceled!
Earth Day poster from 2019
CLOTHING DRIVE
During fall quarter EAB hosted a clothing drive to encourage folk to pass along clothes they no longer wear rather than trashing them. They accepted donations until November 11! Donation bins were located at the SRB, San Nicolas Hall, San Miguel, Santa Cruz, and Santa Catalina South.
GREEN CHEF
EAB collaborated with the newly formed AS Environmental Justice Alliance to host its quarterly Green Chef food sharing event. Attendees celebrated their diverse backgrounds and the joy of food by bringing their favorite traditional, cultural, and/or childhood dishes transformed into a more sustainable plant based meal! The event included open discussions about ways to eat for our planet while maintaining family and cultural food traditions.
PLASTIC FREE WITH EAB FAIR
As part of their Sustainable Living Campaign, EAB invited the campus to learn about plastics in our environment and how to reduce our personal consumption. They had reusable containers, straws, chip bags, and tea strainers to give away for all who attended.
CURRENT CAMPAIGNS
Office of Sustainability
EAB is campaigning to have UCSB create a more robust Office of Sustainability. Currently, the UCSB Sustainability program operates under a temporary budget, and the staff are running the program alongside other duties. Having an official Office of Sustainability with a set budget and dedicated, full time staff would allow the campus to better meet its sustainability goals and properly train our students for the future.
Sustainable Living
The sustainable lifestyle campaign hopes to educate and empower students to adopt a more earth-friendly lifestyle. Through interactive activities EAB hopes to make less waste living fun, affordable and accessible. EAB’s biggest event of the year was a plastics reduction fair to inspire people to reduce their use of single-use plastics.
Policy
EAB is currently focusing on campaigns related to on-campus and city-wide waste management policy and local energy policy. Studnts are campaigning for on-campus waste reduction, with future goals of furthering city-wide styrofoam and single-use plastics bans in Goleta. By working with on-campus food services, EAB hopes to address waste reduction by promoting new policies that encourage sustainable alternatives. Eventually, EAB hopes to mobilize attention within local municipal governmental institutions in order to enact styrofoam and single-use plastic bans. Moreover, EAB is mobilizing support for policies that promote our county’s sustainability goals, which necessitate a transition to a greener and cleaner economy. Currently, EAB is working to promote clean energy developments in the greater Santa Barbara area, while raising concerns over the expansion of fossil fuel extraction projects.
OFFICERS-THE FOLKS WHO MADE IT ALL HAPPEN!
Kathryn Foster Co-Chair
Sophie Roberts Co-Chair
Nicole Shimizu Sustainable Lifestyle Campaign Coordinator
Miranda O’Brien Sustainable Lifestyle Campaign Coordinator
Maritza Vasquez Environmental Policy Campaign Coordinator
Ethan Jakob Social Chair
Kat Lane Social Chair
Gabriel van Praag Evironmental Justice Chair
Alexa Kerr Isla Vista Earth Day Coordinator
Katya Baty Isla Vista Earth Day Coordinator
Emma Jurgensen Local Affairs Chair
Charusheela Garapaty Student Affairs Chair
Jacob Foley Sustainable Foods Chair
Gabby Alvira Sustainable Foods Chair
Meriam Jacobs Publicity Chair
Wendy Pelayo Publicity Chair
Joe Celebrezze Historian
Rishit Gundu Volunteer Chair
Sarah Siedschlag Advisor
Iris Li Administrative Assistant