Wildfire Resilience Collaborative
Santa Barbara is rich in natural communities that are specifically adapted to its Mediterranean climate. These include coastal scrub, chaparral and foothill woodland plant communities, some of the world's most imperiled ecosystems.
Chumash Good Fire Project
Since our last letter to you, December rains have rejuvenated the hillsides and provided a brief respite from the concern of wildfires. Yet with such a dry, hot January and February and the continuing drought, we’re rapidly headed into a long season of very high fire risk. The question of how we learn to live with this new wildfire regime is at the forefront of our minds.
Collaborative Community Dashboard
True to our mission to help organizations collaborate on critical challenges that no single agency can tackle on their own, LegacyWorks Santa Barbara facilitated a public-private partnership and launched a countywide COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
Cabo Pulmo and the Opportunity to Thrive
For over two decades, almost as long as Cabo Pulmo National Park has existed, I have had the privilege of visiting and working with the community of Cabo Pulmo in Southern Baja California, Mexico, first with international conservation organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, then as a concerned citizen, and now with LegacyWorks Group.
The Resilience Cycle
By now many of us have been exposed to the disaster cycle as it unfolds after a disaster strikes. The cycle takes us from the event itself to immediate search and rescue and early risk mitigation and relief work, into a sustained response through the first days and weeks…
Ventura Land Trust Mariana Ranch
In late 2019, the Ventura Land Trust had an opportunity to purchase Mariana Rancho, an iconic hillside property overlooking the city of Ventura. LegacyWorks helped the Land Trust develop a short-term finance strategy and a longer-term fundraising plan.
White Buffalo Land Trust Jalama Canyon Ranch
LegacyWorks supported White Buffalo Land Trust’s campaign to acquire the Jalama Canyon Ranch. Together we worked to understand and articulate the vision, purpose, principles and goals of the White Buffalo Jalama Ranch Project.
Landowner Carbon Farm Plans
In partnership with the Cachuma Resources Conservation District, LegacyWorks helps owners of working lands to plan and implement regenerative agricultural and grazing management practices to increase the rate at which carbon is captured and reduce the rate at which it is lost or emitted.
SBC Conservation Blueprint Facilitation and Project Design
In 2015, LegacyWorks was engaged by the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County and its partners to develop a strategy for creating a report on the community’s natural resources and an online mapping portal to enable us to proactively conserve natural resources.
Crises and Opportunities
When we launched LegacyWorks Group, we set out to become the best possible partner to help communities collaborate on important projects to achieve far greater impact. These kinds of collaborative projects are challenging and out of the reach of any single organization or agency.
It’s Time to Invest in Local Resilience
The COVID-19 global pandemic. The economic recession. The climate crisis. The drumbeat of police brutality. The abuse of power and disregard of truth by elected leaders. We are facing a suite of existential threats to our health and well being.
CEC Resilience Roundtables
Together with the Community Environmental Council (CEC) and a robust steering committee, LegacyWorks co-designed and facilitated a series of multi-stakeholder Resilience Roundtables.
Responding Locally to a Global Crisis
Two years ago a debris flow swept through my hometown of Santa Barbara and changed everything. The loss of life, property and security were hard to fathom.
Montecito Community Wildfire Protection Plan
LegacyWorks engaged with the Montecito Fire Protection District to support the amendment process for their Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
Bates Teton River Public Access
In 2016, the most popular public access point for the Teton River came up for sale. We mobilized a collaborative of conservation partners to protect it for public use forever.
Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade Strategic Expansion
Through consultation, facilitation, and guided networking, LegacyWorks helped the Bucket Brigade evolve from pop-up nonprofit to established community institution leading local resilience efforts.
Montecito Disaster Recovery
In the wake of the Thomas Fire and 1/9/2018 Debris Flow, LegacyWorks worked cross-sector to create systems maps that capture the full range of activity in the key arenas within disaster recovery and resilience work.