Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

When did you first realize that your voice mattered, or your creativity could have a positive effect? For some local students, Channelkeeper’s Student Art Show has sparked this discovery by providing them with a creative pathway for environmental activism, and art teachers Judith Raimondi and Michael Irwin, jurors of this year’s 20^th-anniversary show, deserve much of the credit.  

Every spring for the past twenty years, Channelkeeper’s Student Art Show has celebrated the connection between young people and the ocean. High school students from Carpinteria to Goleta are invited to create their interpretations of what the Santa Barbara Channel means to them. The artwork they produce is expressive, personal, and highly evocative.  

Inspiring the next generation of environmental leaders is one of the show’s fundamental goals. Michael Irwin, who for nine years participated as a teacher at San Marcos High School, describes the process of connecting young people to the ocean and local watersheds through Channelkeeper’s Student Art Show as “planting the seeds of stewardship.” This connection with nature, he explains, can inspire a life-long sense of environmental responsibility and care.  

“In my experience, the earlier you can get students to feel a sense of connectedness to nature by doing artwork about it, the better because it makes that consciousness present throughout their lives.” 

The experience of creating art related to nature also provides an excellent opportunity to engage in conversations about important social and environmental issues, according to former Bishop Garcia Diego High School art teacher Judith Raimondi. 

When Raimondi introduced the concept of artwork as a reflection of pivotal times in history, her class discussed the degradation of the environment as a critical issue of our time. After exploring vanitas still life paintings from the 1600s, which illustrated important seventeenth-century concepts, she asked students to illustrate their present-day concerns through objects they found and arranged into a still life to paint in oil. The results were powerful environmental statements. 

“For all of the students who participated in Channelkeeper’s Student Art Show, this was the first time they were able to imagine art as a public good,” Raimondi explains “The [Art Show] assignment gave the students an opportunity to experience the impact we have on our environment in a personal, meaningful way.” 

Irwin echoes this sentiment, explaining his hope to empower students by providing creative ways for them to make a difference. In years past he helped students produce their dream projects for Channelkeeper’s Student Art Show through whatever means possible—sometimes by constructing massive frames and stretching huge swaths of canvas for large-scale pieces or heading to the school’s pool to help them capture underwater images.  

“It’s so important today for students to understand that their voice matters and that activism can look many different ways,” Irwin explains. “Even though they may not be legally allowed to vote, they have a really powerful voice.” 

Channelkeeper would like to recognize all of the art teachers who each and every day encourage emerging young artists to create meaningful art. Thank you for sparking students’ imaginations and for providing them with a powerful means of expression. We’re especially grateful for your generous support of Channelkeeper’s Student Art Show over the past twenty years and would like to extend our deepest thanks for helping make the show a success.  

Join us on May 4^th for this year’s 20^th Annual Student Art Show Reception and Awards Ceremony at the Jodi House Gallery (625 Chapala Street) from 5 pm to 8pm. Click here for more information. 

Channelkeeper is delighted to welcome Veronica Moran to our team as a Part-Time Administrative Assistant. In addition to her friendly, can-do approach and passion for environmental science, Veronica brings professional experience and a strong work ethic. She will be supporting Channelkeeper’s clean water work by helping with community outreach, administrative duties, and monitoring fieldwork. We took a moment recently to learn more about the experiences that inspired Veronica to join our staff.

Where did you grow up? What schools did you attend? 

I was born and raised in Santa Barbara. I went to Cleveland Elementary, Santa Barbara Junior High, Santa Barbara High School, Santa Barbara City College, and I recently graduated from Cal State University Monterey Bay. 

What sparked your interest in environmental science? 
When I was in 6^th grade I joined my school’s science club which was run by an amazing teacher named Mr. Criley at Cleveland Elementary. My love for science really grew while being in the Explorers Club, he made learning so much fun by engaging students with hands-on activities and guest speakers. When I was in junior high, I went back to volunteer for the Explorers Club. During this time one of the guest speakers was Penny Owens, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s Education and Community Outreach Director.  She took us to our local creek to teach us about water quality monitoring. She also joined us on an overnight trip we took to Santa Cruz Island. The time I spent with her sparked my interest in environmental science.  

How did that affect your career path? 
Whenever people would ask me what I wanted my career to be, I would always tell them about the work that Santa Barbara Channelkeeper does and that my goal was to work for the organization or one very similar to it. I recently graduated from Cal State University Monterey Bay with a B.S degree in Biology with a minor in Environmental Science. I’m very happy to have made my goal a reality and that I get to work with someone who has inspired me and with all the other amazing people at Channelkeeper. 

What do you like to do when you’re not working? 
I love taking my dog Sandy hiking or to the beach.  

Do you have a favorite macroinvertebrate? 
I think caddisflies are cool because when they are in the larval stage they build little houses out of rocks, twigs, and shells. 

We understand that your last job involved monitoring native and non-native plant species at Fort Ord National Monument for the Bureau of Land Management. Do you have any fun anecdotes to share related to that experience? 
Native plants are so important in order to have sustainable habitats and species biodiversity. I really enjoyed learning how to identify these plants. My favorite experience at Fort Ord was monitoring a Grassland plot which is grazed by goats. The goats eat the exotic plants which allows native plants more opportunity to grow. At the end of one of our surveys, the goats were let into the plot and our team was surrounded by hundreds of goats! 

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your relationship with snapping shrimp? (1 being “strongly dislike” and 10 being “love the little critters”).
My relationship with snapping shrimp is a 9, they are really cool critters! It’s so interesting how they have evolved to produce such a powerful shockwave. But I have to take a point off because one used their powerful punch on me while I was looking through a holdfast it was hiding in. 

Do you have any long-term goals for your work at Channelkeeper? 
I love Channelkeeper and the work that we do for the community, so my goal is to be able to learn and grow within the organization.