Did you know that you can learn about global environmental issues — and what you can do personally to lessen your “footprint” on the environment — while playing tourist, relaxing and having fun?
Green has always been a Santa Barbara color, thanks to the city’s dozens of parks, hundreds of thousands of trees and vast tracks of open space. But a deep stripe of a different green, the green of environmental sustainability, also runs through the American Riviera.
It makes sense. After all, Santa Barbara is often considered the birthplace of the modern environmental movement – one of the nation’s first Earth Day celebrations was held here in 1970. And with global climate change on everyone’s mind, the city is working hard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and create a sustainable community. Visitors can know they’re helping too: a portion of the hotel tax funds important urban-creek restoration projects.
Alternative-fuel vehicles are all over Santa Barbara. The Metropolitan Transit District operates North America’s largest fleet of battery electric vehicles and all of their diesel-powered vehicles run on biodiesel. Want to really cut carbon? Then visit www.santabarbaracarfree.org for maps and links to car-free itineraries, including great walking tours and scenic rides along Santa Barbara’s miles of bike paths, which have contributed to a ranking as the 13th most bicycle-friendly community in the U.S.
Go green with good taste by becoming a “locavore” – that is, consuming only foods produced within 100 miles of here. Organic farms and eco-friendly wineries and grocery stores await exploration, an epicure’s tour takes visitors “inside” the farmers’ market and a number of restaurants specialize in farm-to-table cuisine.
Santa Barbara offers the gamut of eco-tourism: deep-sea diving, surfing, ocean kayaking and whale watching between here and the Channel Islands; mountain biking in the hills behind the city; and hiking routes such as the Bill Wallace Trail along an undeveloped stretch of land near Gaviota. And be sure to plan a half or full day roaming any of the Santa Barbara Land Trust preserves, including Arroyo Hondo Preserve, Sedgwick Reserve, Carpinteria Bluffs and the Coronado Butterfly Preserve.
Check out our self-guided green tour itineraries. Or, take the a la carte route and customize your own itinerary.
Your friends at Simple and the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission invite you to pay a visit and experience the greener side of Santa Barbara!
If you can't find all the information you need on this site, visit www.santabarbaraCA.com for comprehensive visitor resources and to book your stay.
Read about travel writer Ann Campbell's Green Santa Barbara experience, as published in Canada's The Globe & Mail.
