The County of Santa Barbara received a grant for one million dollars from the state of California specifically for projects in Cuyama Valley. The funding will support efforts to increase climate resilience.
“It’s very remote, very rural, and it’s been a long time since there’s been some investment in that community,” Garrett Wong said. Wong is Climate Program Manager for the county.
He said the funding will help to make the area, located along the northern edge of Santa Barbara County, more resilient, especially in times of extreme weather events.
“It gets very hot in the summer, and it gets very cold in the winter. That region also experiences power outages frequently, and they also experience isolation. There are times when there are floods and mudslides, and the road access is limited,” Wong said.
The grant is for community-driven projects, so local residents are engaged in the process.
Wong said one project identified by residents is the need to retrofit existing homes to make them more weather resistent. The region’s remote location, he said, makes it tough to find contractors for this type of work.
“We are trying to design a program that would retrofit multiple homes at one time, so that way contractors would find it worthwhile to come out there,” Wong said.
The development grant is for two years. In that time, the county and local partners will try a few different programs on a pilot basis. Other projects will address water conservation, energy efficiency, and food access.
The county can apply for more funding to fully implement key projects after the two-year period.
