The City of Goleta is pleased to welcome George Thomson as the new Parks and Open Space Manager for its Public Works Department. This is an important role for the City which values and prides itself on its variety of parks and open spaces. George will take on the job of planning and managing the City of Goleta’s open space system. It’s a perfect match for George, a Goleta resident who brings more than 20 years of experience managing local ecosystems and developing hands-on community education and stewardship programs.
George most recently worked for the City of Santa Barbara where he managed the design and construction of the City’s major park improvements and recreation facility renovations. During his time with the City of Santa Barbara he also oversaw habitat restoration projects, invasive plant removal programs and the development of constructed wetlands to improve creek and ocean water quality. George also served as Reserve Steward at the University of California’s Coal Oil Point Reserve and worked for five years at UCSB’s Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration. He attended UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, and the University of Tasmania in Australia. His graduate school research through UCSB focused on management of California’s central coast grasslands.
City Manager Michelle Greene said, “We are thrilled to have George Thomson join our City team. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the area of habitat restoration on the South Coast, which will be of great benefit to the City – particularly for our efforts to restore sensitive habitats on the Ellwood Mesa and enhance the Lake Los Carneros open space area. These areas are gems of our community, and we look forward to working with George on preserving and enhancing them and other open space areas within our community.”
GGeorge began his new position earlier this month. He said, “Ellwood Mesa and the Butterfly Grove, Lake Los Carneros, Stow Grove Park, Evergreen Open Space, and other local treasures are so critically vital for our community’s quality of life. These are places we love and I am so excited to begin this new decade working towards the best possible stewardship of our open spaces.”
We welcome George Thomson to our team and wish him great success ahead in this important and rewarding role for the City.