In elementary classrooms across Santa Barbara, 1st and 2nd grade students are engaging in environmental education taught by UCSB student leaders and volunteers from the Santa Barbara Sprout Up chapter.
A national organization which was originally founded at UCSB in 2009 as part of Environmental Education for the Next Generation (EENG), Sprout Up currently has seven chapters across California universities and two in New York. Over the course of eight weeks each quarter, UCSB student volunteers in Sprout Up go to elementary school classes to teach different topics across environmental science and sustainability through pre-planned lessons that include a mix of teaching and hands-on activity.
Peyton Stoller is a second year Environmental Studies and Geography double major who currently serves as the Co-Chapter Director of the UCSB chapter and manages all things outreach, engagement, and work with students. She explained that UCSB has the largest Sprout Up chapter and has committed to bringing free and engaging environmental education to Title I elementary schools in the Santa Barbara area.