Watershed Field Day at Restoration Oaks
We had a fantastic time at the Understanding and Sustaining Our Regional Watersheds educational field day at Restoration Oaks in early June.
Brock Dolman of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center led participants on a hike and took us to critical points in the landscape where he described water management tactics that can quickly and cost-effectively mitigate storm damage, increase water retention, and improve the health of the watershed and ecosystem.
After a delicious lunch from Industrial Eats, we settled in for a short presentation and open discussion about how we can accelerate the process of implementing proven water, soil and carbon management strategies.
It was a wonderful day and we learned so much! Our brains are full of useful knowledge that we can apply in our school gardens and environmental education classes.
We are so proud to be part of the SBEE Garden Project. The field day was the closing event that wrapped up the EPA Grant that funded the SBEE Garden Project for the past three years.
A big thank you to our field day collaborators: Santa Barbara City College Foundation, Restoration Oaks Ranch, the SBCC Environmental Horticulture Department, SBEE Garden Project, and the Wild Farmlands Foundation. We are grateful to the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network for their help in promotion.
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
