Care for Our Earth Grants

Jennifer Elliott, Santa Ynez School, College School District
Project: The Big Splash Bash!

Gloria E Garcia, Arthur Hapgood School, Lompoc Unified School District
Project:  "Messages in the Rain: Revealing the Importance of Every Drop; "Mensajes en la Lluvia: Revelando la Importancia de Cada Gota: Mensajes en la Lluvia: Revelando la Importancia de Cada Gota"

Aimee Kielborn, Washington Elementary School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Project:  Dreaming up Water Wise Gardens

Matt Makowetski, Maple High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Project:  Water Efficiency: The need to understand and protect it!

Kelly McDonald, , Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Project:  Rhythms of Water

Yesenia Munoz, San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Project:  Local Environmental Issue Project with a Focus on Water Conservation

Nicole Rodriguez Furstenfeld
Cuyama Elementary School, Cuyama Joint Unified School District
Project:  Every Drop Counts: A Cuyama Valley Precipitation Measurement Project

Leise Thomason, Santa Barbara Charter School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Project:  Conserving Water with Ollas and Rain-barrels

Charlene Asmussen, Santa Ynez School, College School District    
Project: Flourishing with Flowers in First

Terri Cecchine, La Honda STEAM Academy, Lompoc Unified School District    
Project: Water Pollution Around Us

Jose Chicote, El Camino School, Goleta Union School District    
Project: Flush Up or Flush Down!

Sydney Culbara, Orcutt Academy High School, Orcutt Union School District    
Project: Water Conservation Workshop

Lori Leach, Los Berros School, Lompoc Unified School District    
Project: Water Wise Warriors

Riccardo Magni, Pioneer Valley High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District    
Project: Monitor Soil to Save Water

Kelly McDonald, Bruce Elementary School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District    
Project: Dancing the Water Cycle

Jennifer Rasmussen, Refugio High School, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District    
Project: Drip Line and Garden/Planter Box Green House Tops

Raquel Ramirez, Santa Barbara County Education Office    
Project: Restore Our Garden

Charlene Asmussen- Santa Ynez School
"Succulents For Students in Santa Ynez"
Students will work all year to plant succulents in a garden bed in front of the class and a green house in the back of the class. By May, students will propagate the succulents to give way to fellow students and families in Santa Ynez.

Sarah Barthel- Lompoc High School
"Water Works: Keeping Oceans Clean & Conserving Water Use"
High school theatre students will present the play "Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings" to teach young audiences and Special Education audiences the importance of caring for our water sources and focusing on reducing, reusing, and recycling. Study guide materials for TK-6 teachers will follow up on these lessons and provide actionable tips for everyday water conservation.

Maureen Claffey- Vista de las Cruces School
"The Water System: Garden Learning"
We will use the Vista De Las Cruces Garden as a science laboratory to learn about the water cycle. Then, we will apply our knowledge to create a drought-tolerant garden.

Maureen Granger- La Colina Junior High School
"Water Retention in the La Colina Garden"
We will teach students environmental science by adding compost to the La Colina Garden to decrease soil erosion and to increase water retention.  In addition, planting bulk cover crop seeds, especially under the fruit trees and in areas where there is significant soil erosion, will help to decrease corrosion due to soil movement.

Lori Leach Los Berros School
"Rain Gardens"
Rain gardens provide students with opportunities to slow down and capture rain water runoff to sink nourish our school garden soil. In this project, young gardeners will design, build, and maintain a rain garden based on their study of water cycles, climatology, and landscape design.

Jason Naczek- Santa Ynez Valley Charter School
"Water Conservation Posters"
Students will track their own water consumption and then research ways that they can cut down on water use.  They will then complete an informative water conservation poster based on their findings.  These posters will be presented to elementary classes and then posted around campus to create awareness.

Erica Phillips- Ralph Dunlap School
"School Garden"
Our mission in creating a school garden is to help our students become more independent and healthier, while gaining knowledge on how to make healthier choices to positively influence their future.  The school garden will enable our students to become educated about how produce is grown naturally and the importance of creating sustainable methods in order to preserve not only their own health but the condition of the Earth.

Kelly McDonald- Santa Ynez Valley Charter School
"Drip, Drip, Plant"
Students will learn about drip watering systems and plant a garden watered in this manner.  Students will learn about how drip systems conserve water as compared to other types of irrigation.

Richard Burlingham- Mission Valley School
"Mission Valley Portable Garden"
This interactive green experience project will allow independent students to get their hands dirty and commune with nature while increasing their knowledge of plant life and their growth processes. The garden will also be used for communal experiences, with families and colleagues on campus, or a meditative spot to relax and rejuvenate.

Lauren Dalton- Santa Ynez Valley Charter School
"Succulence!"
In this project, students will work together to plant a succulent garden that also displays a couple Chumash Native medicinal plants, to create a unique water wise beauty in their garden. Students will research, vote, discuss, collaborate, debate experiment, and explore succulents with excellence!

Paul DePaulo- Pioneer Valley High School
"California Native Gardens Lesson"
Students will design a California native garden using a limited water supply. Students will learn to research the history of native plants, how to map out a garden plan, and collaborate with limited resources.

Michelle Fomin-Vista de las Cruces School
"Experiential Learning Through Outdoor Education"
This project creates an outdoor learning opportunity for students by visiting Catalina Island and participating in the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program. The students will learn the importance of water in our ecosystem and ways to conserve it.

Sharon Gallagher-Solvang School
"Save Our Seas Solvang"
The students will create Water Conservation poetry lyrics, set to music and create public awareness flyers and posters emphasizing the necessity of water conservation in our community. To this end, students will utilize WEVideo and other technology to produce mini-commercials informing the neighboring communities of the value of preserving our precious water resources.

Robert Goettler-San Marcos High School
"MICRO-Irrigation for Big Water Savings"
Students will design and install a smart-controlled drip-line (micro) irrigation system for our school's gardens to maximize the efficiency of plant watering throughout the year. Students learn the importance of making every drop count when supporting plants for food and wildlife.

Riccardo Magni-Pioneer Valley High School
"What's in my water?"
Students will test the water in their homes with portable meters to learn about what they are drinking. They will share the data with their classmates and school.

Matt Makowetski-Maple High School
"Water Efficiency: The Need to Understand and Protect it"
This six week project based, cross curricular unit will encompass water use, water recycling, and future water needs in California during the time of both climate change and drought through a historical and scientific lens while using research based methodologies.

Kelly McDonald-Solvang School
"Water Saving Garden"
Students will learn about strategies to create a water-saving garden, such as adding drought-tolerant plants and applying mulch. Then students will help create a small garden space.

Lauren Dalton- Santa Ynez Valley Charter School
"Choose Native...Grow Native!"
This project combines history, science and teamwork as students learn about the Native Chumash culture, traditions and lifestyle with exploration of their own Native Garden. Students will create, build, design, and care for their native garden.

Robert Goettler- San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
"Succulent City"Gardening
Students will build raised beds on campus that house a variety of succulents, labeled with their names. This "Succulent City" bed will include a sign that explains the origin, environmental suitability and unique beauty of succulents.

Maureen Granger- La Colina Junior High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
La Colina Garden
The goal for the students of La Colina Junior High School is to create a drought-tolerant garden with vegetables and native plants which use less water and provide shelter and food for wildlife.

Lori Leach- Los Berros School, Lompoc Unified School District
The Green Team Compost Crew
The Compost Crew will develop and implement a schoolwide composting program which will result in less garbage in the landfill and more nutrients for the school garden! The crew will also be responsible for educating staff and students as to the importance of composting food scraps.

Kelly McDonald- Solvang School, Solvang School District
The "Brand of Water"
This project incorporates water conservation and social studies. Students will study California water mission systems and brainstorm ways to use recycled water in their own lives. They will also learn about ways to conserve water by reading about the biggest water wasters in the home. Lastly, students will study mission brands and create a save water brand and their initials on leather.

Jason Naczek- Santa Ynez Valley Charter School, College District
How to Use Water
This mini-unit will explore the myriad ways that students can use less water. By using their garden for exploration, the students will identify and explore the following ways to conserve water: Drip Irrigation, checking for leaks, researching and planting native, drought tolerant plants, best times and how often to water plants, composting, ensuring healthy soil, mulching, when to plant seasonal veggies and herbs, and rainwater collection.

Alberto Panchi- Cuyama Valley High School, Cuyama Joint Unified School District
"Water is life"/"El agua es vida"
Students will create a one-week project that will inform people of how much water is wasted every day, by following a few simple water tips.

Eugenia Pappas and Lara Schmeiser- Santa Ynez Valley Charter School, College School District
Rainwater Harvesting
This project will teach students the value of resource management and water conservation through the creation of a rain water collection unit. Students will learn how the collection of rain wter runoff can be utilized to water a garden, introducing them to the concept of reservoirs.

Halli Pedersen- Manzanita Public Charter School, Lompoc Unified School District
Rooftop to Rain Barrel Project
In this project, students will help to design a rainwater catchment system with the help of a local roofing company. The system will provide water for the school's native plant garden during times of drought. The succulent plant gardens will provide a model of natural water storage upon which to base the design.

Sienna Robertson- Orcutt Junior High School, Orcutt Union School District
Wellness Sand Garden
The Wellness Sand Garden project will allow students to develop and implement their own plane for an eco-friendly space. The focus of the garden is based on the traditional zen sand gardens, proven to be a space for both meditation and reflection. The garden will serve as a quiet retreat open to all students.

Renee Shekoufeh- El Camino School, Goleta Union School District
Water Wise Garden Patch
The students will utilize a small plot of school land where they will plant and grow native drought-resistant plants. Students will learn how to properly maintain plants while conserving water.

Markie Wordley- Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Water Conservation, Reclamation, and You!
Students will travel to the Lompoc Wastewater Treatment Plant to tour the facility and learn the step-by-step wastewater treatment.Students will learn the prospects and limitations of using reclaimed water, and discuss greywater systems that will be implemented at home for landscaping purposes. Students will also design, plant and maintain a native plant garden on campus.

Donna Beal- Joe Nightingale School, Orcutt Union School District
Reducing, Reusing and Recycling
Students will do a Variety of projects to learn how to reduce, reuse and reycle materials to create artwork and projects.

Sharon Gallagher Tashjian- Clarence Ruth School, Lompoc Unified School District
TURN OFF D.E.M. WATERS, AGAIN...
Students explore water waste, collect data and create awareness campaign to document water wasted while at home.

Carolyn Hay- Los Berros School, Lompoc Unified School District
Water is a Precious Resource
Water keeps plants, animals, and humans alive. The students will learn the importance on how they can help to protect and preserve this precious resource.

Sarah Macie- Fairlawn School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Air, Water & Land Pollution Research Project
Students will take a virtual tour of one our National Parks and learn about climate change. The students will create a presentation that highlights the impact we can all make to reduce air pollution in our dally lives.

Matt Makowetski- Maple High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Water Efficiency: the need to understand and protect it in the time of COVID 19
This project will investigate pollution, water re-use and climate change as it pertains to water for human use and consumption in the time of COVID-19.

Kelly McDonald- Solvang School, Solvang School District
Hand Washing. Save Lives. Save Water.
Students will learn proper hand washing techniques while using small amounts of water. The students will also create water conservation bookmarks and posters to share the information with others.

Kelly Orwig- Cold Spring School, Cold Spring School District
Vertical Tower Garden for Campus For Campus Food Forest
The students plan to install four vertical food tower gardens to demonstrate how to maximize crop yield while using fewer resources.

Kristin Anderson- Maple High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Scarcity: A Basic Problem: Wow You Save Your Resources to Meet Your Wants
Students will incorporate the basic economic idea of scarcity to discuss ways they will help save water at school and in the community.

Tracie Baughn- Dr. Bob Forinash Community Day School, Lompoc Unified School District
Moments of Peace
The Student of Dr. Bob Forinash will research, design, plant, and maintain an all-purpose, water-wise garden for the front of their school.

Krista Beard- Hollister School, Goleta Union School District
School Wide Single-Use Recycling Program
Hollister student will participate in a school wide single-use plastics recycling program, aimed at reducing containers, utensils, straws and other, will reduce the amount of single use plastics in student lunches and in turn use less energy.

Laura Branch- Ernest Righetti High School, Santa Maria Joint Union School District
Saving Water-Native Gardens & Catchment Basins
This Care for Our Earth project will design and build a catchment basin to use rainwater for the school’s native garden. Data collected from this project will be shared with Citizen Science projects.

Krista Caniano- Lompoc Valley Middle High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Sustainable Lawn Care
The students will conduct an experiment on what type of lawn or garden will save the most water. The students will create lawn and garden terrariums, the data collected from the terrariums will be used to write a proposal for how the school can save water.

Paul Cleveland- Junior High School, Orcutt Union School District
Saving More Water in the Garden
This project will use wireless soil sensors to reduce watering in the school garden. The students will monitor moisture levels with an iPad app, using and understanding technology will lead to efficient practices.

Lauren Dalton- Santa Inez Valley Charter School, College School District
Grown to be Water
Students will work in groups too study: the school’s water costs, analyze local weather/climate patterns, and research various plant groups. The intended outcome is for the garden to use less water while have more plant life.

Marna Ford- Los Berros School, Lompoc Unified School District-
Recycle and Reuse Beach Plastics
After studying the impact of plastics in the ocean, student will travel to local beaches to pick up plastics. The students will recycle or reuse plastics in art projects.

Robert Goettler- Marcos High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District-
Global WORMing: Using vermicomposting to reduce climate Change
Students will build a vermicomposting bin using a design developed and implemented by the local educational non-profit organization Explore Ecology. This type of composting reduces the overall carbon footprint of waste disposal.

Antonetta Haggard- Taylor School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Let's Stop. Walk. Order
The fifth-grade class will identify and pin food/beverage drive thrus within a five-mile radius from the school. Students will use Google for Education to create map layers. Data results will be used to estimate ozone output for one hour/day on drive thru versus indoor dinning.

Chad Hartford- Fesler Junior High School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Solar Cars
Students will investigate the development and use of solar power. They will examine the sun’s role as a source of energy and explore how we rely on it and how it can be used to build “Solar Cars.”

Jaclyn Hick- Fesler Junior High School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Share Table
Students will prevent food waste and cutting back on pollution on campus by collecting food that may be otherwise thrown away and place on the “Share Table” for donation to local homeless shelters and for students who are still hungry.

Lori Leach- Los Berros School, Lompoc Unified School District
Sustainable Gardening
Learning about native plants and creating a worm composting bin will help support the health of the school’s garden. The students will use scraps and plant material to create compost, the compost will be added to the garden, which will reduce the need for water.

Marlen Limon- Franklin Elementary School, Santa Barbara Unified School District 
A Reusable Bottle at a Time
Students will save energy by reducing the single use of plastics, by purchasing reusable water bottles and utilizing the refillable stations to refill the bottles.

Lisa Lisle & Jenny Husak- Brandon School, Goleta Union School District 
From Disposable to Durable: Don't Trash a Celebration or Snack
Fifth grade classes at Brandon School will participate in Explore Ecology’s “Flows to the Ocean” they will conduct a study of the amount and types of litter at their school and design a plan to reduce the amount of waste by providing alternate solutions.

Kristen Lohr & Margaret Lehr- Ontiveros School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District  
Condor Scavengers
“Condor Scavengers” teams made up of upper and lower grade “buddies” will “scavenge” the daily trash on campus and sort recyclable materials, which will be placed in “recycling” or “landfill” buckets. Recycling the materials on campus eliminates the need for district truck to clean up the trash on campus, while cutting on traffic and pollution.

Matt Makowetski- Maple High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Water Efficiency: The Need to Understand and Protect It
This project will encompass water use, water recycling and future needs in California through a historical and scientific lens while using research-based methodologies. Students will monitor, compile data write about the outcomes of measuring water use and rain water catchment on campus.

Kelly McDonald- Solvang School, Solvang School District
Terrarium Table-
Students will learn about the adaptations of succulents, learn tips for water wise gardens and create a terrarium table that is a water saving garden.

Ian Moore- Goleta Valley Junior High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Water Wise School Garden
The Garden Club and Science students will plan/design and plant garden plots with water-efficient irrigation systems with programmable valves to control water use.

Jason Naczek- Santa Ynez Valley Charter School, College School District
Reducing Runoff
Water conservation is the theme for this project, rain barrels will be placed under gutter drainages to catch rainwater from rooftop runoff and the students will use the water to irrigate their school garden.

Juanita Pasallo- Arthur Hapgood School, Lompoc Unified School District
Conservation, Education, and Cultural Studies: Using Native Water Saving Plants in Our Monarch Butterfly Garden
The students will use native nectaring plants and several types of milkweed to this region/state to help develop the Monarch Butterfly/pollinator garden. The planting of native plants helps with the conservation efforts for the Monarch Butterfly.

Adam Pettit- Santa Ynez Valley Charter School, College School District
Saving Energy Through Waste Reduction
The students plan on saving energy and promote sustainability by reducing the amount of waste going into landfills by sorting items into recyclable bins and composting.

Sharon Tashjian- Clarence Ruth School, Lompoc Unified School District
Turn Off Dem Waters!
Students will create an at home survey on determining the amount of water waste, once results have been tallied the students will create posters to raise awareness to turn off faucets and hoses at home.

Ronnie Tow- Santa Ynez School, College School District
Showering You with Savings!
This project will help conserve water and savings, by replacing existing shower heads with low pressure heads. The students will record water usage on future bills and compare data to previous bills.

Markie Wordley- Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Water Conservation, Reclamation & You!
Students will tour the local treatment plant to learn step-by-step wastewater treatment process. Students will learn the prospects and limitations of using reclaimed water and discuss greywater systems that can be implemented at home for landscaping purposes.

Grace Barton, & Linda Martinson- La Cañada School, Lompoc Unified School District
The Water Smart Pollinator Garden
The students of La Cañada School will plant a pollinator garden using native and drought tolerant plants.

Donna Beal- Joe Nightingale School, Orcutt Union School District
The TK Flower Patch
Students will learn the importance of saving water by drought tolerant plants.

Michelle Berry- Mary Buren School, Guadalupe Union School District
To the Farm
Mary Buren students will about local framing practices, specifically organically grown and pesticide free environments.

Grace Butler- Santa Barbara Charter School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Imagine Biking
Students will participate in two bicycle art inspired lessons. The students will be asked to consider a green action related to bike riding.

Marie Chavis- Jonata Middle School, Buellton Union School District
Mitigating Climate Change
Jonata Middle School will analyze electric and water bills as well as conduct on campus audits to develop smart goals to reduce usage.

Jennifer Cline- Oak Valley School, Buellton Union School District
Oak Valley Garden composting Program
Student will expand their knowledge and understanding of the importance of composting.

Paul Cleveland- Lakeview Junior High School, Orcutt Union School District
Saving Water in the Garden
The Junior High students at Lakeview will take part in reducing water in their school garden by learning how to use soil moisture sensors.

Lisa Cooper- Joe Nightingale School, Orcutt Union School District
School Garden Worms 101
Compost left-overs from Joe Nightingale cafeteria will be placed into the red-worm bin which will turn the left-overs into amazing, rich soil for the school garden.

Katherin Dickson- Maple High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Irrigation with Intention
This project is planning to conserve water by using a soil moisture tensiometer and weather station to best target irrigation sets.

Jessica French- Rice Elementary School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Garden Watering Materials + Shed Art
Students will avoid wasteful or excessive water pressure on soil or delicate plants by using quality water cans that allow the water to break up the stream of water into droplets.

Jean Gradias- Cold Spring School, Cold Spring School District
Native Garden Ledership Team
The Cold Spring Native Garden Leadership Team will work on reducing the water consumption on campus, as well as beautify the school, all while learning about local ecosystems and habitats.

Rob Hill- Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District
Waterless Detailing
A car wash uses approximately 70-100 gallons per washing, the students will learn about water conservation by using water-less products, to achieve the same results, and save thousands of gallons of water per year.

Riccardo Magni- Pioneer Valley High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Power Exploration
By using Kill-A-Watt devices in their homes the students will be able to measure the usage of certain items (electrical) that is used daily. The students will compare their results with their classmates and figure out how to measure the energy that they save.

Madison Maple- Carpinteria Family School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Compost Bin Dividers for Our Teaching Garden and Outdoor Classroom
The Kinder and First grade classes of Family School will build a compost bin with three separate dividers for composting and will incorporate water wise succulents in order to keep water in the composting system, without needing extra water for decorative plants.

Linda Mayer- Santa Ynez Valley Charter School, College District
Wise Watering School Gardens
Students will become more water wise by understanding that planting native plants will use less water than non-native plants. Different types of irrigation will be taught for water conservation at home and in the school garden.

Kelly McDonald- Solvang School, Solvang School District
Savy Succulents
Solvang School student will learn techniques for creating a water wise garden by creating a drought tolerant garden. They will also learn about the adaptations of succulents and create succulent terrariums.

Lydia Morrow- Buena Vista Elementary School, Lompoc Unified School District
Second Grade Environmentalists
Buena Vista students will be taught mini lessons on water conservation and work together in groups to brainstorm/research ways to conserve water.

Patty Ortiz- Joe Nightingale School, Orcutt Union School District
Reduce, Reuse, and Recyclling in TK
The students will learn about recyclable items by visiting the Santa Maria Discovery Museum, to explore hands on activities on recycling in their community.

Jan Silk- Carpinteria Family School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Harvesting Fog in Our Teaching Garden
The students will build and research through observation & discovery on how to use fog harvesting as a viable technology to catch water sustainably in order to care for and hydrate their garden.

Ann Silva- Adams Elementary School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Worm Bin-Recycle Food
The worm bin will allow the students to learn and explore the benefits of composting their food waste, and how the composting will provide healthy soil.

Suzanne Squires- Los Olivos Elementary School, Los Olivos School District 
A Day At The Beach
This project focuses on ocean ecosystems and how these systems are affected by four human endured problems: mircoplastics, oil spills, ocean temperature change and ocean acidification. Students will explore four activities on these topics and create their own experiment. After participation students will have a deeper understanding of their impact on the environment.

Markie Wordley- Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Water Conservation,Reclamation, and You!
Students will visit the city water-waste treatment plant, learn about water reclamation/conservation and apply these principles to native landscape design.

Greg Waggoner- Battles Elementary School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Let's Save Our Drinking Water!!
Students will learn about various water sources and how water is treated to make it safe for drinking.

Jessica Zavala- Kellogg Elementary School, Goleta Union School District
Bees Trees and Seas
Kellogg Elementary an Ocean Guardian School will learn how the seemingly unrelated influence of bees, planting trees and seas are interconnected and that they have a symbiotic relationship. The lessons will taught via hands on artistic lessons.

Brianna Balch, Krista Munizich, Sylvia Figueroa, and Caryn Parker- Canalino School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Conserving Local Ecosystems
The first-grade students of Canalino School will connect to their local natural environment which will help teach and inspire conservation.

Anne Cordero-Rabe- Brandon School, Goleta Union School District
Saving Water and Taking Care of Our Garden
Students will learn the importance of saving water by using a rainwater collection system and using the collected water to maintain the classroom garden.

Barbara Courain- Vandenberg Middle School, Lompoc Unified School District
A Beautiful Conservation
The goal of this project is for AVID 8 students to learn and research how drought tolerant plants are beneficial to the central coast in the context of a larger environmental unit.

Maci Farmer- La Patera Elementary School, Goleta Union School District 
Explore Ecology Field Trip
Students will go on a field trip to the local watershed to learn how to protect them. They will learn about water pollution, the effects of plastic debris on aquatic systems and solutions to pollution.

Jessica French- Rice ElementarySchool, Santa Maria-Bonita School District 
School Garden Composting
Students will recycle food waste and create good soil for their on site edible garden.

Carlos Gonzalez- Oak Valley School, Buellton Union School District
Oak Valley Elementary School Garden-Compost Demonstration Project
Oak Valley Elementary School Garden will build and install a compost bin in their school garden to educate the students on how to reduce waste, enrich the soil, and contribute to their garden.

Jean Gradias- Cold Spring School, Cold Spring School District
Solar Greenhouse
Cold Spring Elementary will link the school weather station to Weather Underground in order to program a Raspberry Pi 3 to run solar-powered fans/venting system to regulate temperatures in the student-run greenhouse.

Briana Graziano- El Camino School, Goleta Union School District
Reusable Utensil Initiative
The students will track the amount of disposable waste they generate at school for one week. The students will implement the use of reusable utensil and compare the amount of waste.

Megan Heffernan- Peabody Charter School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
You Reap What You Sow: Sustainable Gardening
This project will allow for students to revitalize a discarded tower garden into a functioning hyroponic gardening system, which will allow for learning about sustainable gardening and consuming.

Rebecca Ingrahm- Maple High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Mindfulness Garden and Water Catchment System
The students will start a garden and demonstration site for water catchment from the school building roofs. The students will learn about water usage and tools to monitor usage.

Jennifer Kerr- Mary Buren School, Guadalupe Union School District
Solar Power and Alternative Energy
Students will explore the power of the sun and alternative energy with seven hands-on experiments.

Misha Lewis- Cold Spring School, Cold Spring School District
Lunch to garden-School Compost Program
Cold Spring Green Team will educate and inspire their fellow students to send their lunch and snack scraps to the school garden for composting.

Kristen Lohr-Taylor School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Turning ‘Go’ Power into ‘Glow’ Power
Third grade students will participate in “The 100 Mile Club” with their “buddies” they will track and calculate how their energy can be equated to electrical power.

Kelly McDonald-Solvang School, Solvang School District
Water Saving Ecosystem
Students will learn about plants that save water through a classroom succulent hydroponics fish ecosystem.

Karina Michel- Jimenez Elementary School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Kinder-Garden
The students will learn the importance of conserving water by exploring and using rainwater catchment.

Robert Morey- Cabrillo High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Recycled Materials Concrete Bench for Campus Water Wise Garden
Students from Cabrillo High will use recycled materials from local beaches and waterways to build a concrete bench to be placed in one of the campus gardens.

Patty Ortiz- Joe Nightingale School, Orcutt Union School District
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycling in TK
The students will learn the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling materials and how this helps to conserve natural resources and learn simple ways to divert the amount of trash sent to landfills.

Robin Palmerston- Family Partnership Charter School, Blochman Union School District
Creating a Succulent Garden
Creating and cultivating a succulent garden in the Kindergarten and First Grade outdoor classroom space will provide students with ways to learn about plants, the needs of plants, and how to carefully utilize water for their growth.

Alberto Panchi- Cuyama Valley High School, Cuyama Joint Unified School District
The Life of a Tree
CVHS students will plant trees to study the growth and collect data to be used in the creation of linear equations using the variables of growth (ht) and time (age).

Lynn Seigel-Boettner- Vieja Valley School, Hope School District
Catching the Rain
The students will install rainwater harvesting systems, plus rain barrel diverters to catch rainwater to be used for the classroom garden.

Denise Sewell- Fesler Junior High School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Earth First Crew School Garden
In this project reclaimed water will be used to create a school garden to grow vegetables to be used for lunches and to donate to the Food Bank.

Julie Shamblin- Carpinteria High School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Drop Stop
Drop Stop will tie into the Virtual Enterprise company, which educates on the importance of water, conservation and how to save water in your daily routine.

Annette Shimamura- Santa Ynez School, College School District
Saving Energy
This project will look at ways to conserve energy when computers are charging on a computer cart.

Jan Silk- Carpinteria Family School, Carpinteria Unified School District   
Restoring Santa Cruz Island’s Habitat & Learning How to Protect It
Students will travel to Santa Cruz Island to complete a service project of restoring the natural drought tolerant plant habitat of the island fox and it’s community.

Stacey Thielst- Vista de las Cruces School, Vista del Mar Union School District
Cover that Soil
The goal of this project is save water by improving the soil structure by planting cover crops and adding mulch where there is bare dirt.

Valerie Trenev- Alice Shaw School, Orcutt Union School District
Bee Healthy
Students will install a hydration station to use refillable water bottles and hydrate with healthy, clean filtered water, there by reducing plastic bottle use.

Markie Wordley- Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Water Conservation, Reclamation, and You!
By visting the local Wastewater Treatment Plant students will learn about water reclamation, water conservation, and apply the principles to native landscape design.

Lela Alcocer- Oakley School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Every Drop Helps
The goal of this project is for students to brainstorm and develops ways to conserve water.

Tim Barker- Hope School, Hope School District
Hydroponic Garden Towers
Students will learn about sustainability, water conservation and many other science standards using hydroponic technology.

Michelle Brunkhurst, Lovenneea Marchetti, Terri O’Donnell- Roosevelt Elementary School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
2nd Grade Deep Root Watering
2nd graders at Roosevelt Elementary School will learn how deep root watering cuts water waste while promoting a strong, deep root system for native plants.

LoriLee Collins-Carpinteria Family School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Carp Kids Community Bike Club
Carpinteria Family School and Canalino School will create a co-operative community building after school bike club. The students will develop bike safety skills, teach bike maintenance, as well as educate the community.

Barbara Courain- Vandenberg Middle School, Lompoc Unified School District
Vandenberg Middle Goes Green-Everyone Recycles
The students at Vandenberg Middle School will begin a recycling program, to educate their peers on the importance of recycling. Each classroom will be provided with a recycling bin which will be collected by the AVID students each week.

Stephen Criley- Cleveland Elementary School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Save the Sea from Marine Debris
Cleveland students will Save the Sea from Marine debris by removing trash before it becomes wind born. The students will provide all classrooms with buckets and tongs to provide on-going playground trash abatement.

Kelly Davis- Pioneer Valley High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Sharing Space, Saving Energy
This project will save energy by sharing space. The students will research energy usage of different types and sizes of refrigerators and compile data on how much energy can be saved by sharing refrigerator space rather than using individual refrigerators.

Christine Edwards- Oak Valley School, Buellton Union School District
Garden Based Learning-From Small Acorns Great Oaks Grow
Renovating the Community Garden with new planter boxes will allow for wider pathways, wheelchair accessibility, and allow teachers, students, and families a deep, hands on connection to the food cycle, sustainable agriculture, and the natural environment.

Ty Fredriks- Orcutt Academy High School, Orcutt Union School District
Understanding Electricity Conservation
The students will begin the process of understanding how electricity is generated, so that they will understand how to effectively utilize energy resources.

Sonia Galvez- Delta High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Water-Saving Shower Routine
Students will plan an efficient shower routine to use less water by using five-minute shower timers. The students will teacher their families and friends how to be responsible water stewards.

Rob Goettler- San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Just Dew It: Collecting Morning Roof Runoff to Support Pollinators
San Marcos student will design and build a system to collect dew-water runoff, which occurs in the morning hours, and will use the water to maintain a pollinator garden.

Chad Hartford- Fesler Junior High School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Solar Cars
The goal of this project is provide the students with the opportunity to build solar cars. The students will investigate the development and use of solar power, by examining the role of the sun as a source of energy.

Sarah Hebert- El Camino Junior High School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Agents of Positive Change: Making the World a Better Place
Students will research various environmental and social conflicts and propose a solution for positive change that will help resolve the conflict. The outcome is for students to become more environmentally and socially conscious citizens.

Terri Ingram- Dos Pueblos High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Tube to table! Hydroponics happening from tube to table keeping it local, very local from start to finish
Hydroponics will be used to grow fresh organic herbs and vegetables in a “Foody Tower.” The hydroponics method allows for conserving water by using up to 90% less. The greens grown will be used in the student run café, and the students will gain a sense of ownership and pride.

Brian Malcheski- Open Alternative School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Water World
Students will learn about Earth’s water cycle and how the distributions and availability of fresh water affects life on Earth. A field trip will allow for learning experiences about natural and manmade water systems and engage in hand on experiences.

Linda Mayer-Santa Ynez Charter School, College School District
Pedal Power
The students of SYC School will design and learn about the mechanics, mathematics and building of a bike-powered blender to be used in the outdoor garden, kitchen, and nature center. Students will use their own energy to power the bike blender to make veggie and fruit smoothies.

Kelly McDonald- Solvang School, Solvang School District
Drought Tolerant Garden
Student will learn about drought tolerant plants and the benefits of saving water while finding ways to make gardens beautiful.

Juan Sanchez- Delta High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Drought Tolerant Plants
Students will appreciate the water saving tips of planting drought tolerant succulents and propagating the plants to share with their communities.

Keri Santos-Vista de las Cruces School, Vista del Mar Union School District
Reduce & Reuse
The goal of this project is to see how many plastic water bottles and water can by saved the end of the school year, by using a water bottle filling station, which will track the number of plastic bottles it has saved.

Jan Silk- Carpinteria Family School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Walking & Riding Our Way to a Healthier Community
By using alternative forms of transportation, such as walking, hiking, and electric shuttle the students will learn that they able to take care of their health as well as taking care of their local community and environment, while making it fun!

Carol Stein & Judy Cosio- Monroe Elementary School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Importance of Water Awareness/Domestic Water Conservation
This project will work on making students aware of the drought and need to conserve water. The students will initiate a water conservation plan at home and also do a science investigation to determine which plants are drought tolerant and why.

Ronnie Tow- Santa Ynez School, College School District
Killing the Kilowatt Hours!
Students will work to lower their home energy bill by using energy saving tip and charting kilowatt-hours being used in the home. The students will share the tips with family members with the hope of encouraging them to conserve energy as well.

Markie Wordley- Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Water Conservation, Reclamation, and You!
In this project the students will visit the city Wastewater Treat Plant, learn about reclaiming water/water conservation, and apply these principals to landscape design.