Upcoming WATER Institute Events
Upcoming events on watershed, beaver, and process-based restoration.
Permaculture Design Course – Nov 7-16
Exciting news! For the first time in years, we actually have a few spots open in our upcoming Permaculture Design Certification this fall!Our popular hybrid Permaculture Design Course offers a … Read more
Apply for 2025 Internships
Applications are now open! Each year, OAEC hires a cohort of enthusiastic interns to live and learn at OAEC for 11 months. Interns work 24 hours per week in one … Read more
Tending the Land for Fire Resilience in Sonoma County
Online Resource Launched for Land Stewards September 11, 2024 (Sonoma, CA) – Three trusted nonprofit partners launched a new, free in-depth online resource for Sonoma County land stewards. Tending the … Read more
21st Annual Chautauqua Revue
Tickets sales begin Tuesday, July 16th at 10AM. Evening shows run September 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th at 7:30PM. Family Matinee is Saturday, September 7th at 2PM. Go to our … Read more
It’s OAEC’s 30th Anniversary!
Celebrating OAEC’s 30th Anniversary! Thirty years ago this summer, a group of friends who knew each other from activist circles came together to form the intentional community known as Sowing … Read more
OAEC chosen as nonprofit of the year for 2nd senate district!
The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) is immensely humbled to be chosen by Senate Pro Tempore Mike McGuire as the 2024 Nonprofit of the Year for Senate District 2. … Read more
Check out our new Beaver web portal!
As we celebrate OAEC’s 30 years, we think back to 2009 when the WATER Institute was scoffed at for having the audacity to suggest that beaver, then considered a ‘nuisance,’ … Read more
End the Siege on Gaza: Permanent Ceasefire Now!
OAEC (The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center), in its 30th year, continues to be dedicated to fostering self-determination in communities and participating in social justice and environmental movements that challenge … Read more
Beaver Welcomed Home on Tule River Tribal Lands
We’re pleased to announce that the Tule River Tribe welcomed seven beavers into the South Fork Tule River watershed on the Tule River Indian Reservation on June 12 as part … Read more
Brock Dolman Featured in San Joaquin Valley Water Video
San Joaquin Valley Water, an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water issues in the San Joaquin Valley, produced a video titled “Beavers Reintroduced on the Tule River Reservation” … Read more
People Over Plastic Now Counterstream Media
People Over Plastic, a fiscally sponsored project of OAEC, is now Counterstream Media! From the Counterstream team: “Our new name reflects our mission to center the stories and perspectives that … Read more
Brock Dolman Featured on Two Podcasts
WATER Institute Co-Director and OAEC Co-Founder Brock Dolman has been busy! He recently participated in two podcasts which we recommend listening to! In the first, Permaculture Perspectives, Brock speaks with … Read more
Nursery Featured in Made Local Magazine
Happy Birthday and congratulations to the Mother Garden turning 50 years old this summer! The Mother Garden, and its offspring, the Nursery were featured in the May/June 2024 issue of … Read more
Overwhelming Support for the “Beaver Bill”
Assembly Bill 2196 to codify the state’s new Beaver Restoration Program heads to Senate Amazing news! Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) is authoring a “beaver bill,” Assembly Bill 2196, with … Read more
Beaver and Process-Based Restoration Trainings in France
In April 2024, WATER Institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist and our close collaborator, Kevin Swift of Swift Water Design, headed to France. French artist Suzanne Husky and French author and professor … Read more
Can beavers help Sonoma County lower wildfire risk?
Our hyper local news outlet, the Sonoma County Gazette, penned a great article outlining beaver as nature’s engineers, important for fire prevention, flood mitigation, groundwater recharge, and critical habitat creation. … Read more
WATER Institute Quoted in the LA Times
On March 26, 2024, The Los Angeles Times published a fantastic article titled, Yes, beavers can help stop wildfires. And more places in California are embracing them. In it, writer … Read more
CA Beaver Bill Introduced
Great news! Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) has introduced a “beaver bill,” Assembly Bill 2196, that codifies the new Beaver Restoration Program at the California Department of Fish & Wildlife … Read more
CDFW Awards OAEC Grant to Create Beaver Coexistence Program
The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center WATER Institute is humbled and excited to announce that we have been awarded a $2 million block grant to develop a program to build … Read more
SoCo Seed Swap March 3rd, 2-5pm
Join us at the Sonoma County Seed Swap! For the first time since the beginning of Covid, the Sonoma County Seed Swap will happen on March 3rd, 2024 from 2PM-5PM at the … Read more
CDFW Releases Beavers Into the Wild for First Time in Nearly 75 Years
The state’s new Beaver Restoration Program completed its first relocation in October, 2023. See the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) press release here. We were honored to be … Read more
2023 Update – Strategies for Change
Unveiling OAEC’s 2023 Update: Strategies for Change! We are proud of this new publication that reports on our accomplishments for this year through the lens of the four strategies that … Read more
The origin—and fandom—of Slow it, Spread it, Sink it
Like Carlo Petrini’s Slow Food movement, we have our own “slow water movement” at OAEC. You might know it as the permaculture mantra, or perhaps you’ve seen it as part … Read more
Cal-PBR Workshops
We’re reporting back from two highly successful CalPBR Network workshops that took place in October, empowering folks to further advance their skills in process-based restoration and all of its benefits. … Read more
Big day for beaver in the news
Two big beaver hits today! First up is an interview with Kate and Brock in The Los Angeles Times about beaver benefits to landscapes. The story is titled, “Restoring California … Read more
Happy California Day of Biodiversity!
In honor of the day, we want to celebrate beaver being a keystone species, meaning the habitats they create benefit countless other plant and animal species in California ecosystems. Species … Read more
WATER institute in the Associated Press and NBC Bay Area
On July 24, the Associated Press published an article celebrating the new CDFW policy changes as they pertain to beaver restoration and management and quoted WATER Institute’s Kate Lundquist: “There … Read more
OAEC Recognized as New CDFW Beaver Depredation Policy is Announced!
At the June 14, 2023 CA Fish and Game Commission meeting, the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) reported to the commissioners that they have enacted a new beaver … Read more
