ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Explore Ecology educates over 30,000 children each year at Art From Scrap, the Watershed Resource Center, and in classrooms and school gardens throughout Santa Barbara County.
Educating the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards
Since 2000 Explore Ecology has educated:
"The best day of my life!"
"My favorite field trip ever!"
"I learned how good it feels to take care of the Earth."
These are the comments that we hear from delighted elementary aged students on Explore Ecology field trips.
Explore Ecology programs inspire children to engage with the natural world, think critically, and experience the value of environmental stewardship. When children connect with nature and learn how to protect the environment they feel empowered, energized, and important.
Our Environmental Education programs include in class lessons on waste reduction and water quality and field trips to the Art From Scrap Creative Reuse Store, the Watershed Resource Center at Arroyo Burro Beach, and the Tajiguas Landfill and ReSource Center.
About
Explore Ecology’s in-class lessons and field trips are available for public and private schools, community groups, and camp programs in Santa Barbara County.
These programs are free to most Santa Barbara County schools, depending on location.
Bus stipends may be available for field trips.
Environmental education lessons and field trips are available at no cost thanks to funding from:
- City of Santa Barbara Sustainability and Resilience Department
- City of Lompoc
- Santa Barbara County’s Project Clean Water
- City of Santa Barbara Water Resources Division
- City of Goleta
- 3C-REN Program
If your school does not qualify for free lessons, lessons are available for a fee (dependent on staff availability).
If you have any questions, call (805) 845-7752 or email our Environmental Education Team.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Replace the Waste In-Class Lesson Series
Grades K-6
(Available to schools within the City of Santa Barbara, City of Goleta, and City of Lompoc)
45 minutes to 1 hour long each, can be booked individually
Funded by City of Santa Barbara Sustainability and Resilience Department, City of Goleta, and City of Lompoc
Waste Reduction: Students learn about natural resources, where our trash goes when we throw it away, and how they can help by reducing, reusing, and recycling. Can be subbed for Art From Scrap Field Trip.
Food Waste: Students learn the process of how food gets from farms to us, how food gets wasted and the consequences of food waste, and what we can do to reduce food waste in our everyday lives.
Compost: Students learn about decomposers, how compost is formed, the benefits of composting, and meet worms in a working vermicompost.
Waste Reduction NGSS Standards
Tajiguas Landfill & ReSource Center Trip
Grades 4-12
(Available to schools within the City of Santa Barbara and the City of Goleta)
1 hour and 45 minutes
Funded by the City of Santa Barbara Sustainability and Resilience Department and City of Goleta
Students discover where their waste goes by visiting the Tajiguas Landfill on the Gaviota Coast and exploring the County’s ReSource Center.
Learn how this facility recovers recyclables and diverts organic waste for composting. After a hands-on lesson in the Education Room, students see the landfill’s open face where trash is buried.
Grades 4th to 6th: Replace the Waste Series + Tajiguas Landfill & ReSource Center Trip: Two 1-hour in-class lessons, Waste Reduction & Food Waste/Compost, prepare students for their field trip. Students learn what their trash is made of, where it goes when they throw it away, and why we need to reduce the amount of organic waste in landfills.
Grades 7th to 12th: Tajiguas Landfill & ReSource Center Trip: Junior high and high school classes may book a standalone field trip.
Limited funding is available to cover the cost of buses at qualifying schools.
Tajiguas Landfill & ReSource Center Field Trip NGSS Standards
Art From Scrap Field Trip
Grades K-6
(Available to schools within the City of Santa Barbara and City of Goleta)
1 hour and 30 minutes
Funded by City of Santa Barbara Sustainability and Resilience Department and City of Goleta
Students tour the Art From Scrap Creative Reuse Store and see all the magical materials inside.
Upstairs in our EE Makerspace, students participate in a waste reduction lesson and learn why Art From Scrap is important. They finish the field trip with an art project using creative reuse materials from the store.
Limited funding is available to cover the cost of buses at qualifying schools.
Creek Kids Lesson Series
Grades 4-8
(Available to schools within the City of Santa Barbara, City of Goleta, and Unincorporated South Santa Barbara County Areas)
In-Class Lessons: 1 hour each, Field Trip: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Funded by Project Clean Water, City of Santa Barbara Sustainability and Resilience Department, and City of Goleta
For this series, classes must schedule all 3 lessons.
Creek Kids #1: Students discover how water moves in a watershed, and how pollution can enter our waterways.
Creek Kids Field Trip: Students visit the Watershed Resource Center at Arroyo Burro (Hendry’s) Beach or Goleta Beach. They tour the estuary and conduct water quality tests to learn about how pH, dissolved oxygen, and phosphates can affect water quality. A beach cleanup and waste audit are performed to learn more about the pollution affecting the area.
Creek Kids #2: Students dive deeper into marine debris and ocean pollution, learning about microplastics and biomagnification in the marine food web. The lesson ends with a discussion of what students can do to help address these issues at school and in their communities.
Limited funding is available to cover the cost of buses at qualifying schools.
Watershed Resource Center Field Trip
Grades K-8
(Available to schools within the City of Santa Barbara, City of Goleta, and Unincorporated North & South Santa Barbara County Areas)
2 hours
Funded by Project Clean Water, City of Santa Barbara Sustainability and Resilience Department, and City of Goleta
Students tour the estuary at Arroyo Burro Beach and visit the Watershed Resource Center where they learn about water pollution, marine debris, and what they can do to keep our water clean and safe. Includes an engaging watershed model activity and a beach cleanup!
Limited funding is available to cover the cost of buses at qualifying schools.
Watersheds at School In-Class Lesson
Grades K-8
(Available to schools within the City of Santa Barbara, City of Goleta, and Unincorporated North & South Santa Barbara County Areas)
45 minutes to 1 hour
Funded by Project Clean Water, City of Santa Barbara Sustainability and Resilience Department, and City of Goleta
Grades Kinder to 3rd: This 45-minute lesson covers similar content to what is taught during the Watershed Resource Center Field Trip, but is taught at your school. Educators facilitate the use of our interactive watershed model and lead a campus litter cleanup with your class.
Grades 4th to 8th: This 1-hour lesson covers similar content to what is taught in our Creek Kids 3-Part Lesson series, but is condensed into one lesson. Students utilize hands-on models and games to learn about watersheds, marine debris, and how to preserve water quality in our communities.
Watershed Stewards In -Class Lesson Series
Grades 4-8
(Available to schools in Unincorporated North Santa Barbara County areas, including the Santa Ynez Valley, Orcutt, and Lompoc)
45 minutes each
Funded by Project Clean Water
For this series, classes must schedule both lessons. 
Watershed Stewards #1: Students explore the concept of watersheds through hands-on models and games. The amount of usable freshwater and the water cycle are discussed.
Watershed Stewards #2: Classes discuss how stormwater moves in their local watershed, and get to know more about the potential pollutants in their area. Students utilize the scientific method to test soil permeability and visualize how pollution gets into groundwater.
Conservation Champions In-Class Lesson
Grades K-6
(Available to schools within the City of Santa Barbara)
45 minutes
Funded by the City of Santa Barbara Water Resources Division
Students will learn about the water cycle, explore where their local water comes from, and understand water scarcity and how it can affect them.
This new lesson about water conservation empowers students to come up with solutions to save water in their schools and homes.
NEW! Ocean Beach Park Field Trip
Grades 4-8
(Available to schools in Unincorporated North Santa Barbara County areas, including Orcutt and Lompoc)
2 hours
Funded by Project Clean Water
Students tour the estuary at Ocean Beach Park in Lompoc, where they learn about water pollution, marine debris, and what they can do to keep our water clean and safe.
Students rotate between two stations, completing water testing and wildlife surveys, and end the field trip with a beach cleanup and waste audit to learn more about the pollution affecting the area.
Limited funding is available to cover the cost of buses at qualifying schools.
Energy Experts In-Class Lesson
Grades 3-6
(Available to all schools within the County of Santa Barbara )
45 minutes
Funded by the 3C-REN Program
This lesson covers the different energy sources used in our homes, schools, and businesses and helps students to understand their impacts on the environment.
With hands-on activities, students learn how to use energy sustainably and are empowered to share the information with members of their community.
Thank You to Our Partners
Josh was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where his passion and curiosity for the environment began and has continued to grow. During his undergraduate studies, Josh pursued this interest at the University of California at Santa Cruz, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies.
Melissa Dodos developed her passion for creative reuse as a mother of four and elementary educator over the past 25 years. She loves to inspire creativity by connecting people with resources and ideas.
Veronica grew up in San Diego and spent four years in San Luis Obispo studying Animal Science at Cal Poly. As an undergrad she learned lots about livestock, agriculture, and wildlife.
Stephanie began her journey as an educator over twenty years ago working as a preschool teacher in Washington state for a cooperative preschool program affiliated with Whatcom Community College. She loved observing the wonder and curiosity of the children and bringing them out into nature to explore the natural world. She continued her love for learning and got her teaching license and then her Montessori certification and worked as an elementary teacher in Tribal, Public, and Montessori schools. She collaborated to create a school garden and her students loved it so much that it became a special place where they could garden, read, explore, play, and it provided a safe sanctuary for students to calm down and reset when they were having difficult moments.
Morgan’s mermaid soul is always seeking adventure—swimming a relay across the Santa Barbara Channel and taking the first photo of a newborn orca off Anacapa Island being standout experiences close to home.
Lindsay Johnson