Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

Ellwood Mesa Volunteer Days Are Back: 2026 Season Begins!

Plant, Learn, and Restore Habitat in a Treasured Local Open Space

The City of Goleta, Ellwood Friends, and the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade invite community members of all ages to join volunteer days at Ellwood Mesa Open Space & Butterfly Preserve. Together, we’ll care for the landscape that supports monarch butterflies and other local wildlife—while improving the health and resilience of this treasured open space.

Volunteers will plant habitat-supporting trees and plants, remove invasive species, and learn about Ellwood’s unique ecology through hands-on restoration work.

Upcoming Volunteer Days on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 

  • February 7
  • March 14 
  • April 18

Ellwood Mesa is one of California’s most important monarch overwintering sites. Monarch numbers vary from year to year, but caring for habitat now helps ensure the best conditions for wildlife to return and thrive.

This project supports multiple community benefits, including:

  • Restoring and improving monarch habitat
  • Reducing wildfire risk through thoughtful vegetation management
  • Building community connection through shared stewardship
  • Providing family-friendly outdoor learning and restoration training

Volunteer Activities May Include:

  • Tree planting
  • Native seedling planting
  • Drip irrigation education, installation, and repair
  • Invasive plant removal

Why Join?

Fresh air, light exercise, new connections—and the satisfaction of making visible progress in a place our community loves.

Sign up here.

Below: photos from previous Volunteer Days

Monarch Butterfly Update

Update from Charis van der Heide, Senior Biologist with Althouse and Meade, Inc.

The numbers are in and unfortunately this is a very low population year for monarch butterflies across California. Like last year, the number of overwintering monarchs is much lower than the 10-year average. We know there is higher mortality of overwintering monarch butterflies in low population years because they lack the safety in numbers strategy. Additionally, we know there is higher mortality after heavy storms, which we just experienced for several days. All these factors come together for our total monarch count at Ellwood Mesa to be 2 butterflies.

In low population years, we notice that monarchs tend to spread out across large overwintering habitats like Ellwood Mesa. Monarch butterflies can use visual cues from other roosting monarchs to locate roosting areas. When there are few monarchs roosting, this behavior of following the leader can break down and individual monarchs are on their own to find good places to roost. This means that our focused monarch surveys at Ellwood Mesa (which follow the Xerces Society count methodology) could miss a few monarchs (but not likely more than a handful) if they roost outside of our known overwintering locations.

All in all, while the low numbers this year are very sad to witness, we can find hope that the western population was able to rebound after the historically low numbers of 2020 and there is the possibility that they will rebound next season.

You can plant winter-flowering nectar plants to help sustain them through the winter and native milkweed in the spring to foster their breeding season.

When you visit Ellwood Mesa, keep a look out for our tagged monarchs with the Project Monarch app and it is always a treasure to see even one monarch’s bright wings fluttering by in the forest.

Beautify Goleta Self-Guided Cleanup Month

Love Where You Live this February

Get ready to show your neighborhood some serious affection because the 3rd Annual Beautify Goleta Self-Guided Cleanup Month is officially here. Whether you’re a solo eco-warrior, a dynamic duo, or a family squad, we need you to help keep Goleta gorgeous all month long.

Here’s the deal: Forget early morning roll calls. This is a cleanup on your schedule! Throughout the entire month of February, you are encouraged to pick up litter whenever and wherever it is most convenient for you (just remember to stick to public spaces, or private property only with permission).

Whether it’s a quick 10-minute pickup while walking the dog or a dedicated hour at your favorite park, every piece of litter removed makes a difference!

Snap, Tag, and Inspire!
We want to see your efforts! As you are out there making Goleta shine, snap a selfie or a photo of your cleanup crew.

  • Post it to social media
  • Tag us @cityofgoleta
  • Use the hashtag #BeautifyGoleta

We’ll be sharing your posts to inspire others to get out there and show their love for the community!

Did Someone Say Prizes?

Yes! It’s not just about the warm fuzzy feeling of doing good; we’ve got giveaways, too! Once you finish a cleanup, report your results using our online form. Reporting your cleanup enters you into our end-of-the-month prize drawing.

We are giving away prizes for:

  1. Grand Prize Drawing: Open to all participants (3 winners chosen at random!)
  2. The Heavy Lifter: Prize for picking up the most trash by weight (1 winner)
  3. The Frequent Cleaner: Prize for the most individual cleanups reported throughout the month (1 winner)

Winners will be announced in early March 2026!

Gear Up & Stay Safe

Need Equipment? Don’t let a lack of gear stop you! The City has trash grabbers, gloves, bags, and buckets available for free checkout. Email us at EnvironmentalServices@cityofgoleta.gov to schedule a pickup time.

Safety First: Before you head out, please check out our Self-Guided Cleanup Cheat Sheet and Safety Guidance.

Ready to get started? Visit www.CityofGoleta.org/BeautifyGoleta to sign up, report your trash, and learn more. Let’s make this the cleanest February yet!

Mathilda Park Construction Underway

Improvements to Include a New Playground

A neighborhood park in Goleta is under construction and is expected to be completed in the spring. Mathilda Park is located on the top of a hill in western Goleta at 311 Mathilda Drive. The improvements include upgrades designed to enhance accessibility, functionality, and sustainability at the park.

Planned improvements include:

  • Replacement of the existing playground equipment
  • Installation of defined turf areas
  • Drought-tolerant landscaping
  • Drainage improvements
  • Adjustments to the walkway alignment to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements

Construction activities are scheduled to take place Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. While every effort will be made to minimize impacts to nearby residents, temporary disruptions may occur during construction.

Please note that the construction schedule is subject to change due to weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances. The City appreciates the community’s patience and cooperation during this project.

For additional information or questions, please contact Project Manager, Melissa Angeles at mangeles@cityofgoleta.gov or 805-690-5122. You can also visit the project page here for the latest information. 

 

City Pavement Program Update

There has been a whole lot of pavement rehabilitation going on in the City of Goleta.  In 2025 more than 5 center lane miles of roadway were improved as part of the on-going Pavement Management Program. This is significantly more than the year prior. We are also pleased that due to budget availability the City is now able to add three more streets to the rehab repair list. The planned work is intended as a bridge treatment to stabilize current roadway conditions and extend the pavement’s service life. The streets include:

  • Pacific Oaks Road: Hollister Avenue to Phelps Road
  • Calle Real: Salisbury Avenue to Rochester Way
  • Verdura Avenue: Carlo Drive to Vega Drive

While most of the major work scheduled on the City’s main roads for the 2025 Arterial Pavement Project is near completion, remaining tasks include slurry seal and striping on select roadways including:

  • Hollister Avenue: Cathedral Oaks Drive to Elderberry Drive
  • Storke Road: Hollister Avenue to Bollay Drive
  • Hollister Avenue: Camino Real Marketplace to Storke Road

Crews will return to finish these tasks, though no major traffic impacts are expected.

Other updates:

  • Tree replanting along Berkeley Road and Stow Canyon is scheduled to begin soon.

Residential Road Repair

As far as residential roads go, the resurfacing project in northeast Goleta completed its first phase in 2025. Phase two, which includes slurry seal treatment, is planned for spring 2026, weather permitting. Impacted residents will receive advance notifications, including mailed notices, before construction begins. Work is expected to continue into early summer 2026.

Finally, the City is in the process of designing the 2026 Arterial Pavement Project and the 2026 Residential Resurfacing Project.

For the latest updates, visit the project webpage, which will provide confirmed schedules. Please note that timelines may change due to material availability, weather, or equipment issues.

Questions? Contact us:
Email: pavement@cityofgoleta.gov
Phone: 805-562-5504


Paving work on Storke Road near Camino Real Marketplace


Paving work on Hollister Avenue by Viajero Drive

Save-the-Date for Goleta’s Community State of the City

April 15 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Goleta Community Center

Mark your calendar for the City’s biggest night of the year! The Goleta Community State of the City is taking place on Wednesday, April 15 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Goleta Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue). This event, in its ninth year, will have a new format. The Mayor and the entire City Council will be presenting on the City’s accomplishments and challenges. Simultaneous Spanish interpretation will be available and light refreshments provided.

Attendees are encouraged to arrive at 5:00 p.m. to check out the City information tables. City staff will be available to talk about upcoming projects and programs. This is also an opportunity to mingle with the City Council, City staff, stakeholders and fellow Goletans. At 6:00 p.m. the main program begins featuring the Mayor and City Councilmembers giving a State of the City Address, followed by a Financial Update from Goleta City Manager Robert Nisbet. The program ends with the popular Q&A session featuring City of Goleta Department Directors.

We hope you can join us for this important City event. Please tell your family and friends.

Drone Light Show Still Needs Donors

The return of Goleta’s Fourth of July Drone Light Show at Dos Pueblos High School will be here before you know it and we need your help! While the City has raised a portion of the funds needed, we still need additional sponsors to make this second year better than the first! We are planning a fun event and hope to get all of our community partners in place soon. If your business or organization is interested in supporting the Drone Light Show, let us know! Email Kelly Hoover at PIO@CityofGoleta.gov or fill out a brief online interest form at www.CityofGoleta.org/July4Sponsor.

The event will take place the evening of July 4, 2026, at the Dos Pueblos High School football stadium located at 7266 Alameda Avenue. In addition to the Drone Light Show itself, there will be music, activities, entertainment, food trucks and for the first time, a reserved seating section. Last year almost 6,000 people attended. Now that we know its popularity, we are looking to grow the event to accommodate the great turnout we experienced. Watch our video recap of the 2025 Drone Light Show event here: https://youtu.be/B3azqD2hx0U.

A huge thank you to Yardi Systems who was our first sponsor for the inaugural show in 2025 and has once again stepped up to be the first sponsor in 2026. The City is also grateful for returning sponsors Best, Best & Krieger, The Cederlof Family, Cottage Health, Deckers, Ergomotion, Fuel Depot and Point Market, Goleta Valley Historical Society, Santa Barbara Airbus, Santa Barbara Airport, Teledyne FLIR, True North Wealth Management and UCSB Athletics, as well as new sponsors American Riviera Bank, The Eng-Denbaars Family, Leonardo DRS, and SEE International. Sponsors help cover the costs of the drone light show itself, security, audio/visual, custodial services, entertainment and more. Who will our next sponsors be? We can’t wait to thank you!

Attention Goleta Business Owners: Renew Your Business License

2026 is well underway. Have you renewed your Goleta business license? Remember, doing so can help keep your business in compliance and avoid late filing fees. You can renew using our online portal. Thank you for being a part of what makes Goleta a great place to live, work, and play!

Special Notice: Old Town Initiatives Fee Waiver

As a reminder, businesses located within the Old Town Initiatives area may qualify for a fee waiver on their business license fee through February 28, 2026. Check the Old Town Initiatives Map to see if you qualify.

Eligibility Guidelines:

  • Businesses in the Old Town Initiatives area may qualify. Select “Old Town Initiatives – Fee Waiver” before checkout.
  • Outside the Area? Fees must be paid. Incorrect fee waiver selection delays processing, and fees will still be required.
  • If your business license expires on or before February 28, 2025, you are eligible for the fee waiver.
  • Paid by Mistake? If eligible, you may request reimbursement after staff review.

If you have any questions, our business license team is happy to assist you by phone at (805) 562-5503, by email at businesslicense@cityofgoleta.gov, or in person at City Hall (130 Cremona Drive).

Show Some Love to Goleta Businesses

Valentine’s Day is almost here and it’s the perfect time to show some love to the many businesses that call Goleta home. Shopping local helps strengthen our economy, supports neighbors and families, and preserves the unique character that makes Goleta special.

With over 1,000 local businesses listed, www.GoodLandGoodShopping.com is your go-to resource for discovering and supporting locally owned businesses throughout Goleta. Whether you’re looking for a favorite restaurant, a trusted service, or a new place to explore, the website makes it easy to keep your support local year-round.

If you’re a local business and not yet part of GoodLandGoodShopping, it’s not too late to join. Signing up is easy—view our video and follow the simple steps.

#GoodLandGoodShopping Local Spotlights

We want to hear from you! Do you have a favorite store, restaurant, or go-to business that deserves recognition? Your recommendations help us highlight the special offerings and passionate people behind Goleta’s locally owned businesses.

To nominate a business to be featured, please email PIO@CityofGoleta.gov with the business name, a brief description of why it’s special to you, and any additional details you’d like us to share.

Holiday Closures

City Hall, Goleta Valley Library and Goleta Community Center

The City of Goleta would like to wish our community a happy holidays! We would also like to remind you about our upcoming holiday closures. 

We look forward to a great 2026 in the Good Land!