Schedule
Collectively Unstoppable: Environmental Stewards Leading from the Ground UP!
The Conference Schedule is tentative and subject to change.
The 2026 UC Environmental Stewards Conference will be offering a wide variety of session topics to keep attendees inspired and engaged. Feedback from the previous conference and suggestions you provided via surveys, phone calls and committees will shape this the sessions, speakers and schedule. The conference features three concurrent Theme tracks running throughout the day. Each track includes a featured (track-level) speaker and multiple breakout sessions. Attendees choose one track/session per time slot.
Track 1: BIODIVERSITY
Confirmed presenters: Michelle Fullner, Educator and host of the popular Golden State Naturalist podcast; Jessica Carver, California Academy of Sciences; Conner Philson, UC Santa Barbara Natural Reserve System; Adina Merenlender, UC Berkeley, Conservation Science; Cameron Barrows, UC Riverside.
Track 2: CLIMATE
Confirmed presenters: Daniel Swain, Climate Scientist with UC ANR and the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research and author of Weather West; Max Moritz, UC Santa Barbara, Wildfire Specialist; Kathi King, Community Environmental Council (CEC), Santa Barbara; Samuel Sandoval Solis, UC Davis, Water Resources Planning and Management.
Track 3: COLLECTIVE LEARNING AND ACTION
Presentations focus on themes such as Workforce Development, Participatory Science, Collective Action.
Confirmed presenters: Heidi Ballard, UC Davis, Center for Community and Citizen Science; Dawn Murray, Education Director Northern Chumash Tribal Council and Mia Lopez, Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, Laci Gerhardt, UC Davis; Emily Taylor, Project RattleCam; Tammah Watts, "Keep Looking Up" Author.
Just added!: Session with Maggie Hall, Deputy Chief Counsel at the Environmental Defense Center of the Environmental Defense Center.
2026 Environmental Stewards conference schedule, Corwin Pavilion at UC Santa Barbara. All tracks run at the same time, all times are Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
Friday, October 9, 2026
| Time | Program |
|---|---|
| 8:00a-3:00 pm |
Workshops
|
| 2:00-5:00 pm |
Registration and Check-in
|
| 4:30-5:35 pm |
Welcome & Opening
|
| 5:40-6:25 pm |
|
| 6:30-8:00 pm |
Dinner
|
| 7:00-8:00 pm | Session with Maggie Hall, Environmental Defence Center |
Saturday, October 10, 2026
| Time | Program |
|---|---|
| 7:00 am |
Breakfast
|
| 8:00-8:30 am |
Plenary Speaker, Michelle Fullner
|
| 9:00-10:30 am |
Concurrent Sessions - Tracks: Biodiversity, Collective Learning and Action, Climate
|
| 10:30-10:45 am |
Break
|
| 10:45-11:45 am |
Concurrent Sessions - Tracks: Biodiversity, Collective Learning and Action, Climate
|
| 11:45-12:15 pm |
Plenary Speaker, Eugene Cordero
|
| 12:30-2:00 pm |
Lunch
|
| 2:00-3:00 pm |
Concurrent Sessions - Tracks: Biodiversity, Collective Learning and Action, Climate
|
| 3:00-3:30 pm |
Break
|
| 3:30-4:30 pm |
Concurrent Sessions - Tracks: Biodiversity, Collective Learning and Action, Climate
|
| 4:30-5:00 |
Break
|
| 5:00-5:30 pm |
ANR Awards and Recognition
|
| 5:30-6:30 pm |
Skills Share Market Place, at Corwin Pavilion. Learn more about the Activity and Skillshare Marketplace
|
| 7:00-8:30 pm |
An Evening with the CEC in Downtown Santa Barbara. This event requires pre-registration, register here.
|
| 7:30 pm |
Plenary Speaker, Sigrid Wright (at Community Environmental Council, CEC)
|
Sunday, October 11, 2026
| Time | Program |
|---|---|
| 7:00 am |
Breakfast
|
| 8:00-8:30 am |
Plenary Speaker, Heidi Ballard
|
| 8:30-9:00 am |
Closing
|
| 9:00-9:30 am |
Field Trip Information
|
| 9:00-9:30 am |
Pickup Boxed Lunch
|
| 10:00 am |
Depart for Field Trips
|
| 4:00 pm |
Return from Field Trips (return times vary by field trip)
|