The Community Environmental Council (CEC) will honor Nalleli Cobo and Cesar Aguirre with Santa Barbara Earth Day Environmental Hero Awards for their work in the community to combat the devastating effects of the fossil fuel industry.

The awards ceremony will be emceed by past Environmental Hero Award recipient Florencia Ramirez, kitchen activist, podcaster, and author of “How to Eat Less Water.”

Activists like Cobo and Aguirre have dedicated their lives to making an impact on climate change and set an example for people across California, the CEC said.

The awards ceremony will be 2-3 p.m. Saturday, April 30 on the main stage in Alameda Park.

“The Community Environmental Council is dedicated to activating and inspiring community members of all kinds in the climate justice movement,” said CEO Sigrid Wright. “This year’s recipients of the Environmental Hero Award embody what it means to be an advocate for community health, resilience, and a more just future.

“Their passion and commitment is humbling and we are honored to celebrate them at this year’s Earth Day celebration.”

In March 2020, at the age of 19, Cobo led a grassroots campaign to permanently shut down a toxic oil-drilling site that was causing significant health issues in her Los Angeles community.

Her success in raising awareness about the health impacts of urban oil extraction has yielded major policy movements in Los Angeles. Those included the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voting unanimously to ban new oil exploration and phase out existing sites.

Among other accomplishments, she co-founded People not Pozos, a nonprofit that aims to secure a safe and healthy environment for the community of South LA by educating, empowering, and working in unison with community members, and the South Central Youth Leadership Coalition, which focuses on environmental racism in the community.

Aguirre is the oil and gas director for the Central California Environmental Justice Network (CCEJN).

At CCEJN he works throughout Kern County helping fence-line communities affected by oil, gas and pesticides understand how to protect themselves from these sources of pollution, and how to advocate for systemic changes that prioritize their health.

Aguirre canvasses in communities to gather testimonies to present before the California Air Resources Board and at gatherings throughout Fresno and Sacramento. He is also a co-founder of the Youth vs. Big Oil statewide coalition.

Cobo, 22, grew up in South Los Angeles and launched her activism at age nine after noticing foul smells emanating from the oil well across the street from her home.

Over the years, she had endured headaches, nosebleeds, and heart palpitations caused by pollution from the well. Cobo began attending meetings and rallies with her mother and, as a child, gave her first public speech on the issue.

Even then, her oratory skills caught others’ attention and paved the way for her to become the leading spokesperson for banning oil extraction in Los Angeles.

She co-founded People not Pozos, which aims to secure a safe and healthy neighborhood, and the South Central Youth Leadership Coalition, which focuses on environmental racism in the community.

In March 2020, Cobo’s organizing efforts culminated in the definitive closure of the AllenCo drilling site across the street from her childhood home.

In addition, thanks to her work, AllenCo executives are facing 24 criminal charges for environmental health and safety violations. Moreover, Cobo’s leadership spurred preliminary votes in the City Council in favor of banning oil extraction in the city in 2020.

Cobo was diagnosed with cancer when she was 19. After three surgeries and medical treatment, she was declared cancer-free but cannot have children as a result of her illness.

In the end, Cobo led a citizens’ movement that shut down an oil drilling site and initiated the process to phase out the largest urban oil field in the nation.

As a child in a family of migrant farm workers who turned into community organizers, Aguirre was introduced to community organizing and advocacy when he was young.

Since starting with CCEJN, he works in rural communities in Kern County helping fence-line communities affected by oil and gas and pesticides understand how to protect themselves from these sources of pollution and how to advocate for systemic changes that prioritize their health.

Aguirre has participated in multiple projects (Arvin Air Quality; I.M.P.R.O.V.E) where he has trained residents on how fracking and other activities related to the oil and gas industry are negatively impacting their neighborhoods.

He has trained community members on the collection of data using PM monitors and bucket samples.

This year’s awardees join previous Environmental Heroes, including Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace USA; “Drawdown” author and environmental pioneer Paul Hawken; U.S. Congress members Lois Capps and Salud Carbajal; “The OMD Plan: Swap One Meal a Day to Save your Health and Save the Planet” author Suzy Amis Cameron and director James Cameron; Marcus Eriksen of 5 Gyres; 350.org founder Bill McKibben; science educator Bill Nye; and activist/actress Daryl Hannah.

For more on CEC’s Earth Day 2023, visit SBEarthDay.org.