Community grazing project at OAEC, Two Sisters Place & Mighty Arrow Ranch
This past spring, OAEC and the Sowing Circle community were thrilled to graze a flock of 54 sheep and 12 goats across nearly 10 acres of coastal prairie and meadow … Read more
Beyond Defensible Space – Consultations Webinar
OAEC Wildlands and our partners are hosting a Zoom webinar on July 27th from 6-8pm PST to wrap up our “Beyond Defensible Space” workshop series, an exploration of wildfire mitigation strategies that … Read more
State Leaders Enact Historic Beaver Restoration Program!
SACRAMENTO (June 30, 2022) – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to launch a new Beaver Restoration Program at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be enacted at the … Read more
Russian River Coho Partnership Concludes a Decade-Long Collaboration
photo by Brock Dolman Salmon are a keystone species, inextricably linked to the health of our coastal ecosystems, yet over the past century their populations have experienced devastating declines. In … Read more
How is OAEC dealing with the drought?
The old saying “Don’t miss the water ‘till the well runs dry” couldn’t be more apt in this year’s unprecedented drought. Wells and reservoirs are drying up around the county, … Read more
Big Wins in Sacramento for the Bring Back the Beaver Campaign!
*We at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center WATER Institute have tremendous news! On May 13th, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a Revision of the Fiscal Year 2022-23 state budget that … Read more
Now accepting 2022 internship applications
Come live, learn, work and play with us! Each year, OAEC hires 6 enthusiastic interns to live and learn at OAEC for 10 months. Interns work 25 hours per week … Read more
Beyond Defensible Space Workshops
We’ve heard about Defensible Space, the 100ft perimeter around buildings that should be free from burnable materials to prevent damage from wildfire, but what about the wildlands beyond those 100ft? … Read more
People Over Plastic podcast season 2!
People Over Plastic, a fiscally sponsored project of OAEC, is a BIPOC storytelling collective working towards an anti-racist, plastic-free future. POP’s wildly successful Season 1 podcast brought us stories of … Read more
New Hybrid Permaculture Course This Fall!
After a year and a half of pandemic closure, we are happy to announce that the OAEC site will be reopening to welcome Permaculture Design students again this fall! Last … Read more
WATER Institute helps launch new California Process-Based Restoration Network
WATER Institute Co-Directors Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman are excited to announce the initiation of the California Process-based Restoration (Cal PBR) Network and invite you to participate and spread the … Read more
Article on “Beaver Dam Analogs” in Yellow Creek
OAEC’s WATER Institute was featured this month in SF Estuary Magazine (including Brock Dolman’s cover shot!) for beaver restoration work on Yellow Creek in the Tásmam Koyóm Maidu Cultural Park, Plumas … Read more
Why we can’t build a fire-resilient future without worker justice
Español abajo. Navigating the threat of wildfire is an ongoing reality of life in Sonoma County. From 2017 to 2020, fires burned more than 300,000 acres across the county, resulting … Read more
CA Beaver Summit – video recording
Climate change is making California hotter, drier, and harder for people and wildlife. Beaver can help. Watch the video recording of the California Beaver Summit! click here to watch During … Read more
OAEC conducts winter prescribed burn
photo by Brock Dolman In late January, with the help of Fire Forward, the OAEC and Sowing Circle community conducted a prescribed burn in a 4-acre woodland unit of our … Read more
Beaver Restoration Feasibility: A Webinar for Olema
The following video is a recording of the informational webinar Brock Dolman and Kate Lundquist (Occidental Arts & Ecology Center WATER Institute Directors) gave on March 4, 2021 to those … Read more
Podcast Interview on Intentional Community with Dave Henson
The Foundation for Intentional Communities has launched a new podcast called “Inside Community” and invited OAEC Executive Director and Sowing Circle Co-Founder Dave Henson to be the guest on one … Read more
Kent Whealy Memorial Seed Collection
Pictured above: Doug Gosling, Mother Garden Biodiversity Program Director, in the OAEC seed vault with the new Kent Whealy dedication plaque. It is our great pleasure to announce the dedication … Read more
Take a virtual or in-person garden tour!
After a long Covid hiatus, on-site tours of the gardens led by real live humans will resume this April! Join us 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month at 1pm, starting at the … Read more
OAEC Organizes ‘Rewilding California’ Convening
In September, OAEC, along with the Center for Biological Diversity and The Rewilding Institute, convened a virtual Rewilding California meeting that, for the first time ever, brought together many of … Read more
Beyond Defensible Space webinar presentation by Brock Dolman
Wildfire preparedness at the county and state level often focus on defensible space and home hardening… and for good reason! Both are critical strategies when it comes to saving lives, … Read more
Fall Nursery Sale: Nov 7-8 & 14-15
Fall Nursery Sale November 7-8 & 14-15 Everything 20% Off! Wow, what a season! From Covid to wildfires, the Mother Garden Nursery has hit more than a few bumps along … Read more
Beaver Webinar with Kate Lundquist – video recording
Beaver in California: Creating a Culture of Stewardship Online Presentation The following video is a recording of a presentation WATER Institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist gave on October 15, 2020. Learn how … Read more
Story of Plastic Wins an Emmy!
OAEC’s fiscally sponsored project Peak Plastic creates integrated storytelling campaigns to fight plastic production and pollution and to empower global collaborative action. Last month, Peak Plastic founders Stiv Wilson and Megan Ponder and their team won an … Read more
Read the 2021 Update
In these times, OAEC continues to embody David Orr’s assertion that “hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up,” advancing practical solutions at the personal and community scale that … Read more
Peak Plastic Foundation joins OAEC!
OAEC has brought on the Peak Plastic Foundation (PPF) as a new fiscally-sponsored project, continuing OAEC’s involvement in the movement to end the plastic crisis. We are excited to support … Read more
Celebrating Women’s Leadership in Food
OAEC is excited to announce a new partnership with Celebrating Women’s Leadership in Food led by local farmer, author and activist Caitlin Hatchmyer. We are thrilled to support this project as … Read more
Forest Thinning and Gully Repair
‘Slash Ain’t Trash, It’s Beneficial Biomass!’ – Brock Dolman For the past few months, OAEC’s Wildlands team has been working hard applying for permits to restore a number of eroding … Read more
