This new Trails Council program, Gaviota Coast Outdoor Explorations, is designed to help develop future environmental stewards.

The program will offer surf lessons, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, bird walks, and coastal hikes along the Gaviota Coast to UCSB students, specifically aiming to serve late teens (17-19) who are 1st and 2nd-year students who, before leaving home and attending UCSB lived in urban communities and or had limited access to the natural environment, such as what is available along the Gaviota Coast. The program will plan and offer several trips each month.  These will be coastal experiences that aim to improve the physical and mental health of young college students from diverse backgrounds by making it easier to access nature.

Despite going to school along the Pacific Coast, many students lack the opportunity to explore their local marine landscapes. Access to the coastal environments offers many social, emotional, and physical fitness benefits. The program will partner with UCSB outdoor and cultural organizations to reach 1st and 2nd-year students who often don’t have the means to access the outdoors and the benefits it offers. By reducing the economic, physical, operational, and physical barriers to accessing the coast, the program will provide enjoyable outdoor experiences and, in doing so, inspire ongoing coastal resource and environmental stewardship through active learning and interactive activities.

Who will the Program Serve?

The Gaviota Coast Outdoor Explorations program will primarily serve late teen (17-19) students living in Goleta and Isla Vista. This region houses a majority of the UCSB students. Demographic data about the student body shows a very diverse community. Within those statistics are many students who come to UCSB  from disadvantaged backgrounds and don’t have the opportunity to explore the coast despite attending a university right next to it.

How will the Program Engage the Community?

As part of our outreach efforts, the program will collaborate with UCSB student organizations, specifically cultural organizations representing student communities that often don’t have access to the outdoors in their hometowns. There are many economic barriers these communities face in accessing the outdoors, the main one being the cost of equipment.

How will the Program Work?

We will break down these barriers by providing the equipment for the planned events. Social exclusion from the outdoors is challenging since many new students arrive at UCSB from communities where they don’t feel welcome in these coastal environments. As a result, many need support when it comes to accessing these spaces, which is why a trained team of staff members will help organize and carry out these excursions into the outdoors. By promoting access to parks, trails, open spaces, and beaches for 1st and 2nd-year students from communities with limited access to the natural environment, the Trails Council will reduce the economic, physical, operational, and physical barriers the late teens face when trying to access the coast.