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

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

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

Covid Update

OAEC’s Response to Covid-19 updated August 2020 We at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center are working to make a safe, proactive, and appropriately-scaled response and are committed to following state … Read more

Juneteenth Call to Action

OAEC aligns with the following demands and principles that come directly from the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) around the upcoming Juneteenth weekend. We urge you to read and get … Read more

Nursery Updates

YES, we are selling plants – take out style!   The Mother Garden Nursery is open for pick up of online pre-orders.  Now more than ever, spending time in the … Read more

OAEC’s Response to COVID-19

OAEC’s Response to COVID-19 updated March 16, 2020 We at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center are working to make a safe, proactive, and appropriately-scaled response to the spread of … Read more

Sonoma County Seed Swap – Feb 23rd

Did you know that OAEC hosts three of the biggest seed exchanges in California every year?  Learn more about our seed saving program here.

2019 Update

  Dear Friends and Supporters, We are proud of the work we have done this year, advancing bold and successful initiatives and providing a place of refuge and reflection to … Read more

Women’s Earth Alliance Accelerator Program

OAEC is proud to partner with the Women’s Earth Alliance US Grassroots Accelerator for Women Environmental Leaders in helping to develop the first ever accelerator program here in the USA.     … Read more

End of Season Plant Sale – Nov 9-10 & 16-17

Our non-profit nursery is far more than a business – it is a mission-driven project promoting biodiversity as nature’s failsafe strategy for resilience both in our gardens and in the greater world. As … Read more

#breakfreefromplastic – from straws to pipelines

Shifting the Narrative from Straws to Pipelines   All images courtesy of #breakfreefromplastic. Since its launch in September 2016, nearly 1,500 organizations from across the world have joined the Break … Read more

ARTIFISHAL movie – Sept 30, 6pm – SOLD OUT!

Artifishal is a film about wild rivers and wild fish that explores the high cost—ecological, financial and cultural—of our mistaken belief that engineered solutions can make up for habitat destruction. … Read more

Soundscapes to Landscapes

Enhancing and securing habitats for biodiversity is one of the core goals of the OAEC Wildlands Program, using traditional knowledge and modern science to tend the 70 acres. The diverse plant … Read more