This collection consists of several types of resources including clippings, history and events files, board minutes, Earth Day documents, administrative files as well as numerous photographs and audiovisual materials generated in the course of activities by the Community Environmental Council of Santa Barbara, California, from the 1970s through the 2000s.

"Since 1970 the Community Environmental Council (CEC) has been a leader in addressing ongoing environmental problems in the Santa Barbara region. They are often referred to as the "think-and-do tank" because of their efforts to analyze problems and to develop creative and real-world solutions. The council's efforts have had far reaching impact not only in Santa Barbara County and its surrounding areas but also nationally and internationally. As a result of the crisis in the aftermath of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and the ensuing community outbursts regarding the catastrophe, residents created the nonprofit organization CEC. The organization's members included Jim Billig, Elaine Burnell, Phil Marking, Marc McGinnes, John Meengs, Maryanne Mott, Judy Patrick, Paul Relis and Selma Rubin. The CEC received its incorporation papers on April 18, 1970. Thereafter, the organization held its first major celebratory activity – closing off the street in front of their office on Anapamu Street for the nation's first "Earth Day". Currently "Earth Day" is one of the largest secular observances in the world. Accordingly, during this time there were few organizations that were dedicated to addressing the practical challenges of putting appropriate conservation measures into practice. CEC founders made it their goal to fill that void. CEC's focus involved education, bridge building, and pioneering new ideas. They often created pilot projects such as community gardens. In addition, CEC embarked on developing the first South Coast facility for collecting common household hazardous waste materials for disposal. Other endeavors included the Art From Scrap, the Watershed Resource Center, and a Watershed Restoration program." [Excerpts from CEC History: Local Pioneers for a National Environmental Movement]

31.69 linear feet (59 document boxes, 1 flat box, 13 DVDs, 58 videocassettes, 2 film reels)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

The collection is open for research.