No Burden Is Too Heavy if We All Lift Together

The origin story of the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade is the stuff of legend – and for good reason. In the aftermath of the 2017 record-shattering Thomas Fire and 2018 debris flow that devastated Montecito, the Bucket Brigade emerged from the mud leading an army of volunteers to dig out homes, clear open spaces, and restore trails to reconnect the community. 

In the following five years, while over four million acres of California burned and we endured a global pandemic, the Bucket Brigade continued to work, reestablishing five miles of neighborhood trail and restoring riparian habitats in areas affected by the debris flow. During the pandemic, they launched the Bucket Brigade Academy, volunteers sewed and delivered 40,000 masks to critical service workers, built and delivered home victory garden kits throughout the region, and delivered food and supplies to vulnerable seniors.

 “In the wake of larger and more frequent disasters, just wanting to help our neighbors is no longer enough,” says Abe Powell, the Brigade’s co-founder. “We need to become good at helping each other as a whole community.”

In Montecito, the Bucket Brigade has broadened its scope from immediate disaster relief to include projects that build long-term resilience, including neighborhood organizing efforts like the Walk Montecito! safe-routes-to-school campaign. 

Looking ahead, the Bucket Brigade has two major Community Uplift Projects that it wishes to expand with donor support: the Bucket Brigade Academy and Bucket Brigade Humanitarian Garden. The Academy is a youth leadership training program where students learn advanced volunteer leadership skills to prepare to lead relief efforts in their own communities in a time of need. Located at Elings Park, the Humanitarian Garden is a seven-acre public space where volunteers come to connect and develop urgently-needed community restoration skills. The garden is a safe space where local leaders and volunteers from all around come to learn and train in habitat restoration, regenerative agriculture, community organizing, and disaster relief.

“To train a generation of climate leaders, we need to create a safe space where community members can learn and grow together,” Powell says.