This story originally appeared in the Santa Barbara Green Guide 2025/26,
a collaboration publication between ‘Santa Barbara Independent’ and ‘Bluedot Living‘.
Phil and Lora Clarke reject the idea that environmental advocacy sits solely on the shoulders of younger generations.
“People think, ‘We’re retired, so we don’t do anything anymore,’ and that’s not true,” Lora says. “There’s a lot of contributions that our age group can make.”
Phil, a recent graduate of the Community Environmental Council’s Climate Stewards course, is applying his newfound knowledge to make the Valle Verde retirement community, where the Clarkes live, more sustainable. “I took the course to learn how to make this campus greener,” he explains.
The Clarkes’ journey began in the 1970s at Cal State Los Angeles, where their love for each other blossomed alongside a mutual love for nature. In their youth, they joined the anti-nuclear protests at Diablo Canyon Power Plant and became active with the Sierra Club. Over the years, they helped lead the West Los Angeles Sierra Club chapter while building their careers, Phil in health care and Lora in higher education.
Since retiring in 2008 and moving to Santa Barbara, the couple has carried the activism that first sprouted on their college campus into their lives on the Valle Verde campus.
The Clarkes, along with their eco-conscious collaborators and fellow residents Janis and Dick Storbo, started by tackling film plastic, like bubble wrap and paper towel wraps. Ablitt’s — a local dry-cleaning business — holds collection events through their Planet Protectors program to recycle film plastic into material that can be used to make furniture and decking.
The couples collect 30 to 50 pounds of plastic per week from their neighbors and donate it all to Ablitt’s. While they’re at it, they collect textiles to recycle through a national company called Trashie. They’re also advocating for Valle Verde facilities to ditch single-use plastics, such as swapping out the grill’s plastic clamshell to-go containers for reusable or biodegradable alternatives.
Beyond recycling, the Clarkes and their neighbors successfully campaigned to introduce green-waste containers on campus and install a new EV charging station for residents. They’re also focused on long-term projects, like replacing the community’s outdated solar panels, securing backup power batteries, and advocating for more sustainable building practices, such as heat pumps. Neighbor Kenny Standhardt is leading his fellow residents as they design two new gardens on the Valle Verde grounds composed entirely of native plants.
HumanGood, the nonprofit senior-living organization that owns Valle Verde, was immediately on board, Phil says, “except that they need the residents to step up and help out.” Valle Verde’s directors have been supportive as well, and residents have responded positively, he adds.
“We’re trying to get a committee together with more like-minded people to help around the campus,” Lora says. “We have to help remind them that it’s everyone that needs to get on board with the environment — it’s at every turn, you can’t separate it out.”
That sentiment also branches out beyond the fences of Valle Verde. The Clarkes, as well as other residents and staff, are part of a coalition of different HumanGood senior-living communities, including in La Jolla and Las Vegas, that meets quarterly to talk about different environmental initiatives they want to see on each campus. In Santa Barbara, the Clarkes and Storbos want to see more retirement communities get on board with going green.
“I think the more sustainable Santa Barbara is, the more we can set an example for the rest of the state and the country,” Phil says.
Becoming a Climate Steward
In every Climate Stewards cohort at the Community Environmental Council (CEC), students learn about climate change, the factors and policies at play that either exacerbate or alleviate the issue, and how to foster conversations around climate. Volunteer opportunities and field trips are also included throughout the nine-week class.
“I thought it was great that they had such a thing here, working through the [CEC’s State Street] Hub,” Phil says. “It’s been amazing.”
All students take on a final project of their choice, and Phil’s was initiating more eco-friendly improvements at Valle Verde. He used everything he learned to start conversations with his neighbors and implement real changes.
“I thought the commitment of all the other people that were taking the class, because I’ve seen a couple of them, was really inspiring,” Phil says. “They’re really moving on and getting things going, which is good, because I think it helps all of Santa Barbara.”
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