OAEC supports diverse communities to design their own regenerative systems at the regional and local scale.
Our cookbook is a collection of inventive recipes inspired by seasonal eating from our biodiverse Mother Garden, orchards and Wildlands Preserve.
Experience the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center through beautiful slideshows of our Guest Houses, Meeting Hall, Kitchen, Garden, Wildlands and more.
OAEC serves as a retreat center for networks, public agencies, foundations and other groups working towards social and environmental change.
Our 100% Certified Organic plant nursery specializes in open-pollinated perennials including edible landscaping plants, rare and endangered food crops, drought tolerant ornamentals and habitat plants - all tested in our onsite gardens and appropriate for our bioregion.
OAEC offers the longest consistently running two-week Permaculture Design Certification course in the West. Immerse yourself in information, ideas and inspiration on how to design sustainable, regenerative systems in balance with your home ecosystem.
Miles Horobin (He/HIm) is the Nursery Assistant and Landscaper at OAEC. He grew up in Sonoma County, and spent much of his childhood exploring the land and getting to know the plants and animals that inhabit this region. In 2020, he came to OAEC for the Garden Internship Program and is continuing his work in the Mother Garden Biodiversity Program propagating plants and maintaining landscaping. He is a lifelong learner and finds plants to be some of the best teachers. When he is not at OAEC you can find him in the garden, camping with friends, or transforming plants into food, medicine, and art.
On Staff Since: 2021 Email >
My background
I grew up 20 minutes away from OAEC in the wooded hills of Forestville. Instead of skateboarding and playing basketball like most of my peers, my unmaintained road wasn’t conducive to such activities and forced me to pursue other interests. So, I spent my time exploring the forest, climbing trees, and observing water skeeters in pools in the creek. After graduating high school from Summerfield Waldorf, I studied Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria in Canada.
What gives me hope
The resiliency of life and its multitude of forms.
My work at OAEC
I originally started working here in 2020 as a garden intern and stayed on to help to steward the land by working in the orchard, nursery, landscaping, and garden. Before working at OAEC I really appreciated going to the nursery for all of the interesting and unique plants that I had never seen in other places. At a time when many people lack access to medicine, the nursery is able to provide various medicinal plants to be grown at home. Now, working in the nursery I am deeply honored to be a part of a place that not only provides a wide range of useful plants from around the world, but also everything is grown organically here by us – from seed, division, or cutting. I get to share the joys and wonders of growing plants with all who visit.