Over the course of 15 months, the Community Environmental Council, guided by a steering committee of local climate leaders and community partners, held a series of Climate Resilience Roundtables that examined Santa Barbara County’s climate threats and explored ways to protect and strengthen communities in the face of climate change.
These roundtables were designed as community listening and idea generating sessions organized around the key climate threats to our region: increased wildfire, sea level rise, extreme heat, drought, more intense storms, and decreasing snow pack and water supply. Roundtable participants considered these threats through the lens of public and mental health, social justice, economic impacts, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and natural systems and working lands.
There were over 580 participants in the series who attended one or more of the roundtables. This diverse group of stakeholder participants were from government agencies, community-based organizations, social justice and environmental advocates, grass-roots leaders, elected officials, climate practitioners and frontline workers impacted by climate change.
The first two roundtables were in-person meetings, one in November 2019 focused on wildfire and smoke, and one in March 2020 on sea level rise and flooding. The third and fourth roundtables, held virtually in August and September 2020, explored the intersection of climate-related disasters, health, and social and economic inequities that disproportionately impact our most vulnerable community members. Community Solutions to Protect Against Climate Change in March 2021 was the last roundtable of the series and the culmination of 15 months of community conversation and analysis.
Highlights of each of the 5 roundtables, along with recordings and other resources, are provided below. Explore each to learn about the topics and themes discussed and the community-generated solutions and ideas for build climate resilience.
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ROUNDTABLE 5: Community Solutions to Protect Against Climate Change / Soluciones de la comunidad para proteger contra el cambio climático
March 12, 2021
This free webinar highlighted the themes, values, and bold ideas generated from the year-long Climate Resilience Roundtable series – solutions that can safeguard us from the inevitable impacts of climate change and move us toward a community resilience vision. We discussed:
- Values and guiding principles needed for equitable climate resilience.
- Top ideas and initiatives identified in the roundtable series that could be leveraged and worked on collaboratively.
- How to align local climate resilience efforts with planning, priorities, and funding opportunities at the regional, state, and federal level.
Following the webinar, there was a Roundtable Discussion designed for planners, practitioners, and doers interested in coalescing around key projects and themes elevated in the roundtable series. We explored opportunities for collaboration and partnership alignment around top project ideas and ways to move toward something implementable and fundable.
ROUNDTABLE 4: Historias de resiliencia desde las primeras líneas del cambio climático / Stories of Resilience From the Frontlines of Climate Change
September 3, 2020
This free roundtable was designed to deepen the understanding of the compounding impacts of climate change and socio-economic vulnerabilities on our frontline and essential workers and indigenous cultures. Community members on the frontlines of climate and public health crises shared their lived experiences in their native language and helped connect the dots between climate change, health, justice and indigenous knowledge. Through their stories we heard what resilience means and what is needed for a fair and equitable community response to ongoing threats.
Presented in Spanish with English interpretation.
FACILITATOR
Ana Rosa Rizo-Centino
co-creator/co-hostess of “¡Que Madre!” on KZAA 96.5FM
A former mayor of Maywood, CA and UCSB alum, Ana Rosa Rizo-Centino is a Senior Organizer with the Central Coast’s Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action. She currently serves as President on the boards of La Casa de La Raza and the Central Coast League of Conservation Voters (CCLCV), Secretary on the board of SB Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), and as a Boardmember for Santa Barbara County Action Network. She is also part of the Healing Justice collective, serves on the City of Santa Barbara Creeks Commission.
ROUNDTABLE 3: Vulnerability, Health, and Equity
August 13, 2020
Additional Resources
- I’m going to die out here. Brutal heat is even more dangerous with coronavirus
LA Times | July 22, 2020 - The Great Climate Migration
New York Times | July 23, 2020 - A Climate Plan in Texas Focuses on Minorities. Not Everyone Likes It.
New York Times | July 24, 2020
ROUNDTABLE 2: Sea Level Rise & Flooding
March 4, 2020
- Agenda & Program (PDF)
- Participant List (PDF)
- Presenter Slides (PDF)
- Press Release
- Photos from the event
Additional Resources
- Sea Level Rise Virtual Reality Video Explore hyper realistic climate models and explore coastal adaptation scenarios in virtual reality.
- Santa Barbara Area Coastal Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment (SBA CEVA) – https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/project/santa-barbara-area-coastal-ecosystem-vulnerability-assessment-sba-ceva
- Coastal Conservancy Climate Ready Program – https://scc.ca.gov/climate-change/
- Santa Barbara County Regional Climate Collaborative – http://countyofsb.org/collaborative
- Central Coast Climate Collaborative – https://centralcoastclimate.org
ROUNDTABLE 1: Wildfire & Smoke
November 1, 2019
- Agenda & Program (PDF)
- Participant List (PDF)
- Presenter Slides (PDF)
- Press Release
- Photos from the event
Additional Resources
- CalAdapt
Cal-Adapt provides a view of how climate change might affect California. Find tools, data, and resources to conduct research, develop adaptation plans and build applications.
https://cal-adapt.org/ - CalFire Resilience funding opportunities (DOCX)
- Clean Coalition’s Community Microgrid Initiative
https://clean-coalition.org/community-microgrid-initiative/ - Health, Wildfires & Climate Change in California white paper – Climate Readiness Institute
This white paper makes recommendations for action to reduce the serious health impacts of wildfires in California’s increasingly hot climate.
Steering committee members have included
Mimi Audelo
City of Carpinteria Emergency Services
Rachel Couch
California Coastal Conservancy
Genevieve Flores-Haro
Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)
Aeron Arlin Genet
Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District
Jennifer Hernández
Community Environmental Council
Iris Kelly
Community Environmental Council
Sharyn Main
Community Environmental Council
Lucia Marquez
Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)
Monique Myers
California Sea Grant
Abe Powell
Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade
Christopher Ragland
Healing Justice: BLM SB
Theresa Romero
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Michelle Sevilla
Office of Assemblymember Steve Bennett
Ashley Watkins
Santa Barbara County Sustainability Division
Garrett Wong
Santa Barbara County Sustainability Division
Sigrid Wright
Community Environmental Council
Lucas Zucker
Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)
FUNDING SUPPORT FROM
IN-KIND SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Dune Coffee Roasters
Snoitcudorp / Joe Mahany
Mercury Press International
