The Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Collective (SBUCC) is a grassroots, 501c(3) nonprofit dedicated to stewarding the watersheds of coastal Santa Barbara County.  Our work includes collaborating with diverse public and private partners on creek restoration, cleanup, and monitoring projects; providing educational resources about why and how to take care of local watersheds, leading creek tours and outings, and advocating for a balance between growing the built environment and preserving the healthy natural functioning of creeks.

​

SBUCC is an entirely volunteer-led organization, with the Board at the core of our operations and governance.  We have a "volunteer working Board," meaning that in addition to fulfilling the traditional governance and fiduciary roles of a board of directors, our board members also contribute hands-on to the daily operations and programming of the organization.  The minimum time commitment of a board member is approximately 10 hours/month.

​​

Board members are expected to develop a general familiarity with the organization's mission, programs, finances, and operations, as well as participate on one or more committees, which focus on specific aspects of our mission and operations such as:

 

Education:

Design and execute programs that educate community members about local watersheds, including their ecology, natural and human history, and how and why to protect them.  These programs include creek tours, forums/lectures, tabling events with educational models, and more, and are geared toward a range of ages (kids to adults.)

 

Volunteerism: 

Collaborate with community members to organize hands-on volunteer activities to take care of local watersheds, such as cleaning up litter, removing invasive plants, planting native plants, cataloguing species with iNaturalist, and any other stewardship activities that would benefit specific watersheds.  

​

Conservation: 

Advocate for the long-term protection of creeks and watersheds through responsible development of the built environment that preserves natural resources, and where feasible, the restoration of creeks to a more natural or functional state, such as by removing fish barriers, naturalizing the bottom and/or bank, and re-introducing native vegetation.  

​

Administrative and Operational Committees:

Our committees on Governance/Strategy, Finance, and Communications provide essential operational support to the three aspects of our mission and the organization as a whole.

​

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

​

We are in search of enthusiastic, self-driven, and detail-oriented volunteers, located in Santa Barbara County, to join our board.  To apply, please introduce yourself and send your resume to SBUCC President Anne Burdette at info@sburbancreeks.org.​​

​

What We Expect From Our Board

As a working board, we value time, talent, wisdom, and enthusiasm.  Board members have the opportunity to be leaders and shape the organization.  Therefore, we expect all board members to be engaged and work as a team with the board and its committees to support the organization’s needs.  This includes attending and conscientiously participating in monthly board meetings and continuing to learn about the organization’s mission, policies, programs, and needs.

 

What You Can Expect from Us

By joining our board, you are joining a community of people who value the diverse benefits healthy creeks provide and the need for preserving those creeks for future generations.  We value having board members with a variety of backgrounds and skillsets so that we all can learn from each other’s perspectives.  On our board, you will gain valuable experience in multiple aspects of environmental conservation, and the satisfaction of helping out the local community and its creeks.  Additionally, this is a great long-term community service opportunity if you are looking for hours!