News & Events

Surf Swap for Sustainability

Surf duo and ELI students, Ruby Wedbush and Emma Sayre, share that "as surfers, we collectively consume an astounding three-quarters of a million boards each year. Shockingly, only a small fraction of these boards are constructed from sustainable, biodegradable, or recyclable materials, highlighting a significant environmental concern within the surfing community." In response to this pressing issue, Emma and Ruby have founded Sustainable Surfers with a clear mission: to cultivate an environmentally-conscious community of surfers in Isla Vista.

ELI Students Provide Interactive Map of UCSB Outdoor Study Spaces

ELI students, Tanner Ellison and Emily Hernandez, partnered with the UCSB Office of Public Affairs & Communications (OPAC) to create an interactive map of all outdoor study spaces on campus.   

ELI Project, Education+, Seeks to Support and Inspire Local Youth

ELI student, Jess Lickstein, turned her passions for educational equity in primary school and in making positive change in in our Goleta and Santa Barbara community into her successful Education+ leadership project which provides tutoring as well as environmental education and coding enrichment to local K-8 students.  

Upcoming ELI Student Workshop: Wildfire Emergency Planning

Are you prepared if a wildfire broke out here in Santa Barbara? What would you do, and where would you go?   Don’t miss this valuable chance to create a personalized emergency plan to prepare for a wildfire emergency.  ELI students, Christopher Tai and Vivian Liang, are hosting a workshop on wildfire preparation and planning. Come for the opportunity to learn about wildfires, and create your personalized evacuation plan with the help of Gustavo Agredano from Santa Barbara County's Fire Safe Council.

Free Pizza and sparkling water are provided! 

Spring Fix-It Fair Scheduled for May 17th

ELI students, Eva Mills and Molly McGee, have founded the Isla Vista Fix-It Fair as part of their ELI project.  They have hosted two successful fix-it fairs already in the fall and winter quarters, and have recently scheduled their final fair for this spring.  

ELI in the News: Hundreds in Isla Vista Celebrate Earth Day with ‘The Plunge’

ELI student, Lior Kishinevsky, had a dream to gather participants for a world record ocean plunge in hopes on raising awareness and funds for marine conservation. This past weekend, on Sunday, April 21, in honor of Earth Day the next day, UCSB students flocked to Devereux Beach to fulfill Lior's vision.  The Independent news source covered the story!

From The Independent:

ELI in the News: Environmental Leadership Incubator Project Launches Campus Shoe Drive

A first-of-its-kind recycling program at UC Santa Barbara has a plan for your old shoes — instead of throwing them out, give them new life.  Spearheaded by second-year environmental sciences major Matthew Schoen for his project in the Environmental Leadership Incubator (ELI), a large-scale shoe drive on campus runs April 1–12, with drop-off bins located at the Recreation Center (Rec Cen), Intercollegiate Athletics Gym (ICA) and the San Miguel, San Nicolas and San Rafael residence halls.

ELI in the News: Edible Insect Art Show Displays Culinary Diversity & Sustainability

Did you know there are over 2,000 different types of edible insects, and each one has a different flavor profile? There can be subtleties too, such as, if you feed them mint, they’ll take on a minty flavor, or some just taste more meaty and fatty like bacon, while others hit a bit lighter, in a way comparable to shellfish. 

Upcoming Event: Edible Insect Initiative Art Exhibition

Join us for this year's Edible Insect Initiative Art Exhibition. Through the creative efforts of ELI student Alex Carlin and Anthropology PhD candidate MacKenzie Wade, the exhibit will be up in the UCSB GlassBox Gallery during the week of April 1st to April 5th, with a reception event taking place on April 4th from 5:00PM to 7:30PM. 

Second Fix-It Fair Comes to Isla Vista

ELI students, Eva Mills and Molly McGee, are hosting the winter quarter Fix-It Fair on Sunday February 25th from 1-4 pm at the Isla Vista Community Center.

Repair Fairs Welcomed in Isla Vista

Fix-it Fairs in Isla Vista give students and community members an opportunity to rethink and repair broken items.  

Polar Plunge wraps up the 2023 fall quarter

The first of many polar plunges occurred this past weekend as part of an ELI project, led by ELI student, Lior Kishinevsky, to raise awareness and hope for the planet. Stay tuned for the next one to welcome 2024 and learn how you can get involved.