Hayward City Hall Water-wise Garden
On April 15, 2017, Keep Hayward Clean and Green Task Force (KHCG TF), Earth Team, City of Hayward’s Landscape Department, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center and the local and surrounding … Read more
Compost Toilet Install Begins!
Compost Toilet Research Project installation has officially begun! Pictured here: Glen from Phoenix Composting Toilets, and OAEC facilities intern, Amelia, in the basement of our guest housing building installing the … Read more
Time for Spring planting!
April is coming! Join us at the OAEC Nursery! Spring Crops Plant Sale Event April 1-2 & April 8-9, 10am-5pm Friends of the Nursery* preview March 31, 4-6pm Summer Crops Plant … Read more
Resilient Community Design video
Click HERE to watch the video! Introducing the new Resilient Community Design video! This video is a brief conceptual overview of the steps that we use here at OAEC to … Read more
Dutchbill Creek Streamflow Improvement Plan
The long-awaited Dutchbill Creek Streamflow Improvement Plan has been released! Congratulations to the Russian River Coho Water Resources Partnership and Brock Dolman of the WATER Institute for your hard work … Read more
Seed Swap in Sebastopol, Feb 16, 2017
Join us for our favorite Seed Swap! Meet neighbors and fellow gardeners at the Grange in Sebastopol on Thursday evening, Feb 16th at 7pm to share seeds, scions and stories. … Read more
Brock coins the term “egosystem” in scientific literature!
OAEC WATER Institute Director, pun-tastic wordsmith and meme generator extraordinaire, Brock Dolman has co-authored, with Dr. Matt Deitch, a new peer reviewed scientific paper in the Journal WATER called Restoring Summer … Read more
Compost Toilet Research Project Fundraising Success
Click here to watch the video We are thrilled to report the resounding success of OAEC’s first ever crowdfunding campaign! Thanks to 371 generous donors, we raised almost $70K! In addition … Read more
OAEC Receives Groundbreaking Compost Toilet Permit
Legitimizing Ecological Sanitation via Scientific Research After 2 years of negotiations, OAEC is excited to partner with county and regional agencies with the acquisition of an “Alternate Methods and Materials” research … Read more
AB1810 Non-commercial seed sharing protected
A victory for seed sovereignty: AB 1810 passes with help from OAEC OAEC’s Dave Henson and Cooper Freeman along with a group of partner organizations – Sustainable Economies Law Center, … Read more
Sonoma County Beaver Blitz – October 8th, 2016 (9AM – 5PM)
The OAEC WATER Institute is hosting a Beaver Blitz to map current distribution of beaver (Castor canadensis) in Sonoma County. Beaver modify the landscape in ways that can be really … Read more
OAEC Releases New Beaver Stewardship Guidebook
Call our main office to purchase a booklet (707) 874-1557 x101 or Download for Free> Beavers are one of our favorite watershed restoration partners! They are the original champions of … Read more
Action Alert: Support Healthy Soils Initiative
Call your Reps. and tell them to support sustainable agricultural solutions to climate change. Good news! Governor Jerry Brown is staying the course and is again calling for $20 million … Read more
WATER Institute Supports Borneo Watersheds Affected by Palm Oil Plantations
by Janel Healy. Photos by Brock Dolman. 35% of the palm oil produced in the world comes from Malaysia, and 12% of that comes from the Malaysian state of Sabah … Read more
Seed Swappin’
One of the goals of our Mother Garden Biodiversity & Nursery program is to conserve agricultural biodiversity and share it with the broader public through seed saving and Plant Sales. At the … Read more
Greywater Policy Innovation Goes to Sacramento
The Decentralized Water Policy Council (DWPC), a project of OAEC and the California Onsite Water Association, was one of three finalists in the Imagine H2O Policy Challenge. Finalists were selected from over 100 applications … Read more
In Memory of OAEC’s Friend Doug Tompkins
Above: Kris & Doug Tompkins. Photo by Dave Henson, Dec. 2014. The staff and extended family of the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center would like to honor our friend, mentor … Read more
Connecting to Place Through Art: Painting the OAEC Pond
Co-founder and resident artist Adam Wolpert is in his seventh month of a yearlong project to paint the southwest corner of the OAEC pond. He has created 45 oil paintings–all … Read more
Nov. 2-7: Week of Action to Protect Pollinators
For the last two years, OAEC’s Executive Director Dave Henson has been facilitating a network of U.S. organizations that are developing strategies to protect pollinators such as bees, bats, birds, … Read more
Speak Out to Keep Glyphosate (Roundup) a Prop 65 Chemical
The use of glyphosate has surged dramatically since the 1990s, when genetically engineered (GE) “Roundup Ready” corn and soybean crops were introduced. According to the Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA), … Read more
Water Budgeting at OAEC and in Your Community
Above: Alana records weekly potable water use at OAEC outside the Main Office, which all staff members see throughout the day. You, too, could do this at your workplace, church, child’s … Read more
Join the “Chautauqua Circle”
Thank you to everyone who attended our 13th Annual Chautauqua Revue this past weekend! Despite the heavy lifting required to bring into the theater two dozen performers, light and sound equipment, costumes, props, … Read more
OAEC Daughter Garden for People Living with HIV/AIDS
What if a food bank distributed not just canned and donated goods, but fresh, organic produce grown right onsite? The Food For Thought (FFT) Food Bank in Forestville, one of … Read more
Perennials You Can Plant Now
If you’re an avid gardener, you are probably about to get your Fall and Winter annuals into the ground, or have already done so. However, there are also many perennial food crops, … Read more
OAEC Publishes Wildlands Preserve Stewardship Plan
Pictured: Harold Appleton, registered professional forester, co-authored the plan with Lindsay Dailey and Jim Coleman (pictured) as well as Brock Dolman. Harold spent many hours onsite inventorying mixed conifer forests and guiding OAEC … Read more
OAEC Cookbook: Summer Recipe & Civil Eats Article
Pictured: Flower Petal Pestos. Edible flowers, such as sunflower and nastutium, volunteer in legions in OAEC’s temperate gardens. These brightly colored sauces in small quantities are most efficiently used as a … Read more
New OAEC Guest Housing
We are thrilled to announce the completion of our three new guest housing units, built to provide beautiful and comfortable accommodations for a more diverse array of our constituents. Being a demonstration site, … Read more
WATER Institute Reviews Beaver Restoration Guidebook
The WATER Institute was invited to review the 200-page comprehensive Beaver Restoration Guidebook written by NOAA Fisheries, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service and Portland State University to … Read more
Drought Action
These are extraordinary times in California–especially in the Dutch Bill Creek Watershed, where OAEC is located, and the watersheds surrounding it. The water in our creeks is so low that … Read more
OAEC Nursery Staff Spotlights
Behind the scenes at OAEC are dozens of talented hourly and part-time staff members. Here are some of the wonderful people who give their time, energy and love to the OAEC Nursery, our 100% California Certified … Read more
