About Care for Big Bear
Get to know us and what we're doing around responsible tourism, volunteering and environmental preservation.
Big Bear welcomes millions of visitors each year to enjoy outdoor recreation like hiking, skiing, fishing, and much more. Nearly every business in Big Bear is touched by our tourism economy, so thank you for visiting our slice of paradise. Successful tourism includes successful mitigation efforts to sustain the natural environment our tourism is built on. See what Care for Big Bear is doing to Preserve Our Natural Playground for generations to come.
Good stewardship of the environment is not just a personal responsibility, it is a public value. President George W. Bush
Our Board
Board of Directors
Shauna Pomerleau - President
Big Bear Hiking Adventures
Travis Scott - Treasurer
Visit Big Bear, CEO
Cathy Herrick - Secretary
KBHR 93.3
Alexis Shuler
Action Zipline
Juli Goss
Southern California Mountains Foundation
Rosie Velasquez
Mystic Rose Studios
Jessica Whiton
Big Bear Alpine Zoo
Elizabeth Filia
Big Bear Mountain Resort
Our Projects
Climate & Cocktails
Launched in January 2026 and part of the Landscape Initiative, Climate & Cocktails invites locals, visitors and part-timers to spend time in our community, clearing the landscape of litter and debris. Afterwards, our volunteers head to a local restaurant or bar and the first round of drinks is on Care for Big Bear! See our schedule of events.
SkyFest Big Bear
Care for Big Bear hosted our community's first ever dark sky festival in August 2025, SkyFest Big Bear. The event was a success with hundreds of attendees enjoying guided night hikes, presentations, documentaries, astrophotography, telescope stargazing, sound baths and more.
Dark Sky Initiative
Care For Big Bear is leading the charge when it comes to dark sky preservation in the Big Bear Valley. Dark skies are essential to a healthy ecosystem and Care For Big Bear is working to bring awareness on the effects of light pollution and what individuals can do to combat it and support dark skies.
Green Business Program
Beginning in 2025, Care For Big Bear launched the new Green Business Program offering additional partner benefits to those practicing sustainable and green initiatives in their businesses.
The Landscape Initiative
A More Beautiful Valley, One Pound at a Time
Care For Big Bear partners with local landscapers NativeScapes on a trash cleanup initiative that runs year-round. NativeScapes makes weekly clean-up runs to popular recreation areas like Aspen Glen and around the Senior Citizens Center. Between years 2021 and 2022, NativeScapes collected 78,000 pounds of garbage from National Forest recreation areas. From 2023 through 2024, NativeScapes removed 66,000 pounds of trash. Most of the garbage are small items like paper, plastic bottles and food wrappers. In the winter, plastic sled debris is a large contributor.
Operation Keepin' it Clean
Operation Keepin' it Clean
Since 2020, CFBB's Landscape Initiative has funded the placement of porta-potties and dumpsters at trailheads and picnic areas. Pitch in by tossing your litter - and any you find - into the designated dumpsters.
Dumpsters:
- Juniper Point
- Cougar Crest
- Woodland Trail
Portable Restrooms:
- East Public Launch Ramp (outside gates)
- Cougar Crest
Fostering Community Pride
Fostering a Love for Our Environment
In 2024, Care For Big Bear launched new programming aimed at connecting our locals and visitors to the natural beauty around them. Parent & Me Nature Yoga is an outdoor exploration class for kids 5 years and younger with their parent.
Art in the Wild is a family-friendly creative series to connect with each other and the natural environment.
In 2025, photography workshops launched with Brady Enger of Bending Energy Photography leading aspiring photographers to capturing brilliant skyscapes during an astrophotography class.
Awards
2022 Poppy Award
Destination Stewardship & Sustainable Travel
Care For Big Bear was awarded the Visit California 2022 Poppy Award for Destination Stewardship & Sustainable Travel.