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Community Safety Fund Grantees

Some Mountains Are Not as Tall as They Seem

A volunteer is seen from the back. She wears a white mesh baseball cap and has her hair in a short ponytail that brushes the back of her neck. Her shirt is orange tie-dye and reads

By: Matt Perkins 10.9.2023

Photo: by Katie Abbott Photography

      California’s Central Coast is replete with oceans and mountains that cut distinct worlds into the landscape. Santa Barbara and Lompoc are within 40 miles of each other in the same county but can seem worlds apart. In 2022, both flexibility and trust—and a Wear Orange Grant—brought together partners from Santa Barbara and Lompoc who proved that the divide between the two cities is more perception than reality.

      Through their partnership and advocacy work, Moms Demand Action volunteers Emily Engel and Kendall Pata, founders of their Santa Barbara chapter, identified Explore Ecology, a non-profit based in Santa Barbara County, as a partner to address gun violence. Additionally, Wear Orange grant funding was awarded to support a project at an elementary school in one of Santa Barbara’s more impacted neighborhoods—but only weeks before the project launched, the partners learned that the location was no longer available for use.

      Two volunteers, facing a parking lot and turned away from the camera, shovel shift into a wheelbarrow.
      A young boy with short black hair and a blue t-shirt stands between the two handles of a wheelbarrow. He is framed by an adult's hands, which hold onto the barrow handles behind where the boy is gripping.
      A young toddler wearing a peach-colored baseball hat stands in front of orange flowers and green plants.
      A woman in a peach-colored tank top and sunglasses faces the camera and stands in front of several planter boxes. She holds a shovel in one hand and uses the other to hold hands with a toddler, who stands sideways to the camera.

      With the tables turned, Kendall and Emily looked to Explore Ecology for help. As an environmental education and arts nonprofit, one of Explore Ecology’s flagship programs is the School Gardens Program, run by Lindsay Johnson, which establishes school garden programs and staffs them with Garden Educators in 30 schools throughout Santa Barbara County, providing deep connections to community leaders and different neighborhoods. Programs like these build healthier, more connected communities, which research shows are more protected against challenges like gun violence.

      Because of their connections in Santa Barbara County, and Lompoc in particular, Explore Ecology proposed changing the project location. Thanks to ongoing violence prevention work at Lompoc Unified School District, and the connection to both Explore Ecology and Everytown for Gun Safety’s technical assistance partners at LISC, the project was moved to the La Honda STEAM Academy. La Honda was already part of the School Gardens Program and in need of program upgrades, making it the perfect venue for a Wear Orange grant project.

      A volunteer wearing an orange shirt, blue denim overalls, and a tan hat is framed by plant leaves in the foreground of the picture. A field is visible behind her.
      A woman wears blue jeans, black sunglasses, and a sleeveless red t-shirt that reads "Moms Demand Action". She is smiling and kneeling next to a young girl, also smiling and kneeling, who wears a dark blue baseball cap, a purple t-shirt, and leggings. They are painting over an aqua blue sign with yellow paint.
      A volunteer is seen from the back. She wears a white mesh baseball cap and has her hair in a short ponytail that brushes the back of her neck. Her shirt is orange tie-dye and reads "we can end gun violence" in white block text.
      Two older volunteers stand shoulder-to-shoulder facing the camera. The one on the left is a white man wearing a white shirt, linen shorts, and sunglasses with a gray floral pattern and has a gray mustache, gray beard, and gray hair. The woman on the right wears a long-sleeved blue sun shirt and black pants, brown hiking shoes, a green baseball cap, and a blue disposable surgical mask.

      Working with Assistant Superintendent Brian Jaramillo, Explore Ecology and Moms Demand Action volunteers received quick permission for the event and connected with local leaders and volunteers to carry out a joint day of action. With the strong partnership between the local Moms Demand Action chapter and Explore Ecology, the teams adapted and relied on one another. 

      This project is helping to strengthen the connection between the two communities and creates a safe and nourishing space for the students of La Honda STEAM Academy for years to come. All made possible by the partnership between the local Moms Demand Action chapter and Explore Ecology, showing that some mountains are not as tall as they seem.

      Learn more about Explore Ecology’s work.

      A group of volunteers stand among planter boxes in a large garden space. A wheelbarrow filled with dirt is in the foreground; trees and brush are visible in the background.
      A young girl wearing a blue baseball cap, a light lavender t-shirt, and patterned leggings kneels to the left of a white board that reads "Welcome! Moms Demand Action and Explore Ecology. Today's tasks: 1. Fill metal tanks w/compost; 2. Spread mulch into pathways & around garden; 3. Create Art!!; 4. Litter patrol" in red marker.
      A white female volunteer crouches on her toes in a garden. A planter box and pipe are visible in the front left of the image, and green plants with orange produce sprout in the box. The volunteer is smiling at the camera and wears a straw hat, dark sunglasses, a red Moms Demand Action shirt, black leggings, and black Nike sneakers. She holds a small garden tool in her right hand.
      Volunteers stand on a patchy grass lawn in front of a white four-pole shade tent. The tent has ExploreEcology written in green and blue text on each of the sides stretched between the white tent poles.

      All photos from Katie Abbott / Katie Abbott Photography

      About LISC

      Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), through its Safety & Justice national program, is an Everytown for Gun Safety partner and technical assistance provider for safer neighborhoods. LISC provides expertise on neighborhood-based responses to safety challenges, including place-based strategies, across the nation. Working with community-based organizations, local government, philanthropic organizations, and as a training and technical assistance provider to the U.S. Department of Justice, LISC promotes collaborative and equitable solutions to reduce safety challenges and address root causes of crime and victimization.

      Author

      • Matt Perkins

        Matt Perkins is a Program Director with the LISC Safety & Justice national program supporting neighborhood-based efforts to reduce crime and victimization. Matt has worked for over 25 years to create safer neighborhoods through empowering residents and community based organizations to solve problems, including addressing how the physical environment impacts safety.

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      Did you know?

      Every day, more than 120 people in the United States are killed with guns, twice as many are shot and wounded and countless others are impacted by acts of gun violence.

      Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. WONDER Online Database, Underlying Cause of Death. A yearly average was developed using four years of the most recent available data: 2018 to 2021.

      Last updated: 2.13.2023