Blog

Show the beach and your neighborhood some love! Join Explore Ecology for Friday Cleanups  throughout Santa Barbara County in April through June. Kick off your weekend, enjoy the sunshine, and be part of the solution to ocean pollution by picking up litter before it becomes marine debris. Ten [...]

At Explore Ecology we like to empower and educate our community about how their everyday choices impact the environment. Join us in celebrating Earth Day this year by making simple changes in your lifestyle, changes that will make the world a better place for all.         [...]

  Art From Scrap, Santa Barbara’s favorite creative reuse store, is re-opening just in time for Earth Day. The Creative Reuse Store located at 302 East Cota Street in downtown Santa Barbara will re-open on Wednesday, April 21st at 11:00 am. The new Store Hours are Wednesday through [...]

At Explore Ecology, we get to work with so many amazing people. We figured it’s about time for you to meet our team and to hear some of their stories. 💕⁠ Lydia Ballantine is an Environmental Educator and the Watershed Resource Center Manager. Lydia grew up in rural New Hampshire, swimming [...]

Fabric is a great reuse wrapping material that can be used again and again. Make it part of your gift. Wrap your presents with a bandanna or tea towel for zero waste packaging. The art of Furoshiki, Japanese fabric wrapping, uses folding and knotting to create beautiful packages. No tape is [...]

Ruth Wong is our Guest Blogger and a UCSB student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies. You can follow Ruth on Instagram @plasticfreeglitter. On my sister’s fifth birthday my mother threw a fabulous Ariel themed party. There was a mermaid-shaped cake, face-painting, and to [...]

(Tulsi Growing Roots) Have you ever tried to propagate plants from cuttings? It’s a fun and rewarding way to acquire new plants and increase the biodiversity in your garden or yard. All you need are some sharp scissors or a knife, access to a plant that you’d like to grow, and water [...]

Naturally dying eggs is a fun project that utilizes materials that you probably already have at home. Many things that we consider kitchen waste hold great dye potential. I used carrot tops, beet tops, turmeric, and some coreopsis flowers to add color to my eggs. Other great dyes to try that [...]

Guest Blogger and Garden Educator Rachel Jutkowitz shares some of her most popular and creative ideas straight from an Explore Ecology School Garden.  Here’s Rachel! Not to say I never get sucked into my couch watching Netflix, but in general, I am a person who likes to stay active. If [...]

What happens when second graders hold their first Farmers Market? A lot of learning and fun! Guest blogger and School Garden Educator Clarisa Guerrero updates us on the recent Farmers Market held at Harding Elementary. Harding is one of 38 schools participating in Explore Ecology’s School [...]