News and Events

Foundation for Santa Barbara City College Showcases the College's Center for Sustainability, The College's newest interdisciplinary center

City College leads its students and the greater community toward environmental awareness and sustainable practices through course offerings and educational seminars.

On Tuesday, April 24, the Foundation for Santa Barbara City College will showcase Santa Barbara City College's Center for Sustainability at an event in the John Dunn Gourmet Dining Room, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. The Center's director Adam Green, Ph.D. will provide an overview of the innovative Center for Sustainability program. Dr. Green is an ecologist by training and holds a B.S. in chemistry and wildlife biology from UC Davis, and a graduate degree in wildlife ecology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is an associate professor in the College's Biological Sciences and Program Director for the Center for Sustainability.  

The showcase is one in a series that the Foundation hosts on campus for its supporters and other community members to inform them of Santa Barbara City College's important and innovative academic programs.   Beverages and organic foods will be prepared by the staff and students of Santa Barbara City College's School of Culinary Arts. The refreshments served are carefully selected, to insure that ingredients are local and sustainably grown.

Sustainability encompasses any 'method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged for future generations.' The Center for Sustainability makes Santa Barbara City College a leader in the field of environmental sustainability and an example for other institutions. This is achieved through the offering of courses on environmental education and sustainability through both the credit and non-credit (Adult Ed) curricula and through the integration of sustainable practices throughout the campus. The Center assimilates academic study with sustainable practices at the College, and endeavors to maintain and improve the quality of life in the Santa Barbara area.

History of the Center
The Center for Sustainability a collaborative effort among Continuing Education programs, several community organizations, The Santa Barbara City College Environmental Studies Program, the Student Sustainability Coalition, and faculty and staff. The Student Sustainability Coalition was begun in 2004 by a few passionate students seeking positive change. The coalition provided support to emerging environmental initiatives. Working collaboratively, a number of successful projects were accomplished. Dr. Green saw this as an opportunity to develop a distinctive program that offers students a solutions-based education by incorporating sustainable practices into existing curriculum, undertaking real world projects to make the campus more sustainable, and forging further ties with the surrounding community.

For more information, contact:
Stefanie Davis, Marketing & Communications
805-730-4412 or davis@sbcc.edu