By Staff Report Sunday, December 22nd, 2024

The Santa Barbara Foundation announced its Conservation, Environment, and Public Trails (CEPT) Grants for 2024 on Dec. 19, awarding nearly $610,000 to 26 nonprofits across Santa Barbara County.

According to the foundation, which began its CEPT grants program in 2021, it awarded the grants to nonprofits in “pursuits to preserve the region’s natural resources, ensure equitable access to trail systems, and promote environmental sustainability.”

Specifically, this year’s grants support a wide range of community-based restoration efforts, from preserving and expanding pollinator habitats in Carpinteria to rehabilitating fire- and storm-damaged trails in Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc, Figueroa Mountain and surrounding areas, according to the press release.

Other projects include the reef restoration project in Goleta Bay, watershed and beach clean-ups throughout the Central Coast, and reintroducing native plant species to local parks and trails throughout Santa Barbara County. 

“We are so happy to be able — in collaboration with our donors — to leverage these funds to support our nonprofit partners working to maintain and create equitable access to our wonderful natural resources for all residents across Santa Barbara County,” Jenny Kearns, Santa Barbara Foundation senior director of grantmaking, said in a press release.

The recipients of the 2024 CEPT grants include: Boy Scouts of America, California Rangeland Trust, Channel Islands Restoration, Community Environmental Council, Environmental Defense Center, Explore Ecology, Fish Reef Project, Gaviota Coast Conservancy, Lompoc Valley Parks Recreation & Pool Foundation Inc, Los Padres Forest Association Inc, Midland School Corporation, People for Leisure and Youth Inc, Pollinator Habitat Project, Runners for Public Lands, Sage Trail Alliance, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Inc, Santa Barbara Channel Keeper, Santa Barbara County Trails Council, Santa Barbara Zoological Foundation, Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden Foundation Inc, The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, True Nature Society DBA Quail Springs, University of California Santa Barbara, White Buffalo Land Trust, Wilderness Youth Project Incorporated and Your Children’s Trees.

The CEPT grants, which are made possible by the Hollis Norris fund, support projects scheduled to conclude in 2025.

Information about this and other Santa Barbara Foundation grant programs can be found at sbfoundation.org/nonprofits/grant-opportunities/.