Host: City of Carpinteria
Region: Central California
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Infrastructure Development, including Broadband, Waste Management, Water Management
Skills Needed: Community Engagement, Public Speaking, Community Outreach, Food Justice / Food Recovery, Communication, Leadership

Service Needs & Plans

This project will assist the City in meeting some of the requirements of Senate Bill 1383, which is the waste reduction legislation tied to Assembly Bill 32, as well as developing an outreach campaign for both waste and water quality for businesses and residents. The City is seeking assistance to help with education outreach programs and enrolling businesses into edible food recovery programs, including encouraging those that are not required by law to participate. The project is environmental in nature, meeting climate and waste reduction goals.

Project Description

The Fellow would be assisting the City of Carpinteria with elements of waste reduction, with a focus on organic material and Senate Bill 1383 implementation, as well as developing a targeted multi-lingual outreach program for businesses and multi-family complexes for waste reduction and water quality. This includes developing and holding composting workshops for residents in partnership with the City’s Community Garden, working with businesses to enroll them in the regional edible food recovery program and participating in the edible food recovery regional partnership, and working with multi-family complexes on both recycling and organic waste diversion, as well as educating them on related water quality goals. There is additional opportunity to work on pilot projects using compost as a means to reduce water use at City Parks through this fellowship.

The desired outcome is the develop a comprehensive, multi-lingual outreach program for organic materials for both residents and businesses. This may include working with other organizations such as the Promotores and the Carpinteria Community Project. These organizations focus on multi-lingual outreach to underserved community members.

These resources will assist the City in reducing the amount of edible food that currently is landfilled, instead diverting it to community partners such as the Santa Barbara Foodbank. It would also assist the City in reducing the overall amount of organic waste that reaches landfills, encouraging backyard composting programs to those residents that are interested in home composting, and helping develop comprehensive outreach strategies.

Desired Skills

We are seeking an outgoing individual that is passionate about waste reduction and water quality, as the two are closely tied together. The ideal candidate is interested in working outreach in the community and working with partners to develop comprehensive programs. This position does not require prior experience in this area, but it does require an outgoing personality.

Organization & Community Highlights

The City of Carpinteria is a small City with a small workforce. The City is currently in the process of implementing its justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion training of staff, which includes a “train the trainer” element that the Fellows supervisor is taking part in. Because we are a small City, all staff know each other and wear many hats, so the fellow will be exposed to most aspects of City governance. Public Works, the department the Fellowship will be housed in, is a tightly knit team of people who work closely with each other. The Fellow will attend weekly staff meetings, work closely with the Public Works Department, the City’s Solid Waste Hauler, and the Community Garden Coordinator. The Fellow would also have the opportunity to develop and hold workshops of their own.

Remote or On-Site Placement

Hybrid