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
OAEC
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
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
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
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
Wildlands Program Builds Local Wildfire Resiliency
October 2021 Though the air has been clean at OAEC the past few weeks, we haven’t forgotten that California is still on the heels of a devastating wildfire season (amidst … Read more
A Message from Wysteria McBrylcream
Last year, after seventeen consecutive years of producing the Chautauqua Revue, OAEC decided that we would take a year off in 2020 to freshen things up and take a long … Read more
The Story of Plastic – Virtual Film Screening
Pre-Covid-19, we had planned to hold a screening of this new film at OAEC, but we hope you’ll join us instead for a free on-line screening and Q&A discussion. Watch The Story … Read more
Fire destroys OAEC’s historic barn
Dears, We are so sad to report that our beloved and historic barn at OAEC burned to the ground last night. Everyone, including the animals, is safe albeit devastated. The … Read more
Listen to Dave Henson on Flipping the Table podcast
In this Roots of Change Flipping the Table podcast episode, OAEC co-founder Dave Henson talks about the problems of economy and governance that prevent our social movements, including the food … Read more
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
Caltrans Beaver Project and Transportation Conference Presentation
In September 2019, WATER Institute Co-Directors Brock Dolman and Kate Lundquist attended the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation to present on the Bring Back the Beaver Campaign, specifically on their … Read more
Listening to the Land with The Cultural Conservancy
The Cultural Conservancy’s Vision for a Biocultural Renewal Project in Graton There is a one-of-a-kind indigenous land project happening right here in Southern Pomo Coast Miwok territory and it happens … 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
WATER Institute on reappearance of beaver around California
Since 2014, a colony of beaver have been observed near the suburban South Bay town of Campbell, and with them, an uptick in blue heron, western tanager, ducks and other varieties … 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
Farallones Institute Rural Center Reunion
Farallones barn raising 1978. Photo courtesy of Alison Dykestra As we look back on 25 years of OAEC’s history, we owe a great debt of gratitude to the people who … Read more
