County Lines: Natural History Museum hosting Earth Day celebration |

SANTA MARIA

Natural History Museum hosting Earth Day celebration

The Santa Maria Natural History Museum will host a free Earth Day celebration on Sunday, April 24, that will include arts and crafts, a taco truck and Zoo to You experience. 

Zoo to You is a live-animal education program run by the Conservation Ambassadors, a Paso Robles nonprofit and rescue zoo. 

The event that is themed “Transforming Your Yard” will run from noon to 3 p.m. at the Natural History Museum, 412 S. McClelland St. 

Attendees will learn about the benefits of yard transformation, and an award will be presented to Susan Tuttle for her work as a naturalist with the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department at Los Flores Ranch. 

Admission to the event will be free. Tacos, native seeds and art will be available for purchase. 

For more information, visit www.smnaturalhistory.org.

SANTA YNEZ VALLEY

SYVUHS Principal Michele Borges will not return next school year

Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Principal Michele Borges will not return for a third academic year, according to district officials who say the search for her replacement is underway.

Borges in a statement Tuesday confirmed that this year will be her last but did not provide further information.

“It is accurate that I will not be returning to Santa Ynez High School next school year,” she said. “My contract was not renewed.”

Borges, who was hired July 1, 2020, had been selected from a pool of candidates in an extensive interview process “that involved staff, students, parents and community members,” after serving eight years as a high school principal in the Central Valley.

District Superintendent Andrew Schwab explained that while the search is on for a replacement, Borges would continue to serve as principal through the end of the school year.

Details on the reasons behind her departure were not disclosed by the district.

“We are not able to discuss personnel decisions or specific reasons for this leadership change,” Schwab said. “We look forward to keeping our community informed as we move through this process.”

SANTA MARIA

Utilities Department to celebrate Earth Day with distribution event

To celebrate Earth Day, the Santa Maria Utilities Department is holding a special event to distribute household-friendly recycling containers.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, city utilities customers are invited to the recycling park at the Santa Maria Public Landfill, 2065 E Main St. There, customers will receive a 6-gallon recycling container with a handle, a reusable shopping bag made from recycled plastic bottles and a countertop kitchen pail to help collect food waste. 

Participants also are encouraged to take advantage of the recycling park while there, dropping off recyclable materials like old electronic waste, household hazardous waste and common household recyclables. For a complete list of what can be recycled, visit www.cityofsantamaria.com/utilities. 

Questions may be directed to the Utilities Department at 805-925-0951, ext. 7270.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

Carbon sequestration webinar series kicks off 

A free webinar series to educate the public about carbon sequestration and carbon offsets kicked off Tuesday and will conclude May 18.

The series will introduce potential stakeholders to carbon sequestration and offset markets, facilitate dialogue, foster connections and projects and address barriers, said a series spokesman.

It’s designed to appeal to a wide array of participants including representatives of local agencies, landowners, growers, project developers, consultants, nonprofit officials and representatives of financial institutions.

Central Coast Climate Collaborative and the Santa Barbara County Regional Climate Collaborative are co-hosting the series with the goal of developing a regional effort to achieve carbon neutrality, the spokesman said.

The schedule of webinars — all set for 3:30 p.m. — and their topics include:

• Wednesday, April 27 — “Carbon Markets: Supply-Side Considerations”

• Wednesday, May 4 — “Carbon Markets: Demand-Side Considerations”

• Wednesday, May 11 — “Beyond Carbon Markets: Holistic and Integrated Projects and Stewardship”

• Wednesday, May 18 — “Bringing It Together,” an interactive session for participants to engage in an open discussion

Those planning to participate should register at www.centralcoastclimate.org/sequestration to receive a Zoom link to the webinars.

The webinar series was organized by collaborative members, which include Santa Barbara County, the city of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District, the city of San Luis Obispo, Ventura County and the Community Environmental Council.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

Supervisor Joan Hartmann schedules Solvang office hours April 28

Santa Barbara County 3rd District Supervisor Joan Hartmann will hold in-person “County on Your Corner” office hours in Solvang from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 28, in the 3rd District’s office at 1745 Mission Drive.

Hartmann’s North County district representative Alma Hernandez said open office hours are an opportunity for Santa Ynez Valley residents to ask questions about county governance, share ideas and learn about community projects.

Hernandez said drop-ins are encouraged or appointments with Hartmann can be reserved in advance.

For more information, contact Gina Fischer, district representative and scheduler, at 805-568-2192 or email [email protected].