Earth Day Celebration Santa Barbara Sunday, April 20, 2008

Santa Barbara's "Green" extends from its lush mountains to the beach where tourists sleep

Santa Barbara Earth Day is held annually at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse shown in photos above. This well-attended event get to the heart of the green issue, educating youth who carry awareness of the environment into their adult lives.

Earth Day's conception is attributed to a Santa Barbara event. Senator Gaylord Nelson visited SB after a major oil spill off along the Santa Barbara County coast in 1969. Outraged by what he saw, he passed a bill designating April 22 as a national day to celebrate the earth. See Santa Barbara Earth Day site, SBEarthDay.org for annual day-long event in Santa Barbara. Community Environmental Council was also created out of this oil spill event, making Santa Barbara the birthplace of the environmental movement. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970. Since 1990 the Community Environmental Council has hosted the event, built a sponsor list, arranged exhibits and educational displays and promoted the opportunity to the public and media.

Santa Barbara has grown its green scene with original programs, companies and organizations. One of our favorites is an art gallery called Art from Scrap. Items that normally are considered trash have been turned into unique art pieces, and community classes are held regularly to teach youth and adults or allow them to explore ways turn recyclables into "gold."

Location: Santa Barbara County Courthouse, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA.

Resources: greensantabarbara.com

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