Counterstream Media, a fiscally sponsored project of OAEC, is producing impactful storytelling that centers the people and places most affected by environmental injustice through their publications, The Margin and Peace & Riot Zine, and … Read more
On May 21, 2025, around 250 people joined the webinar introducing California’s Beaver Coexistence Training and Support Program to learn how to get involved in helping improve human-beaver coexistence in … Read more
The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center is pleased to announce the first-ever Clown Café, a one-night-only pop-up restaurant staffed completely by clowns on June 28th, 2025 from 5:30PM – 9PM … Read more
The OAEC Mother Garden Nursery is closed for the 2025 season. As OAEC marks our 30th Anniversary, the Mother Garden celebrates its 50th! The garden and nursery are in a … Read more
We’re offering Permaculture Design Courses and a NEW Food Forests Course at OAEC in 2025! Our new Food Forests course explores the world of regenerative agroforestry, offering a rich blend … Read more
As we close out this special anniversary year, we thank you for supporting the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC). Over the past 30 years, we’ve had the privilege of … Read more
The WATER Institute’s Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman have returned from an amazing four days of beaver and process-based restoration field tours, discussions, and onsite building opportunities at the California … Read more
Join us Saturday, November 2nd from 10AM-1PM for a Residential Rainwater and Fire Resilience Workshop co-hosted by the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, Gold Ridge RCD and Sonoma County Ag + … Read more
Assembly Bill 2196 codifies the state’s new Beaver Restoration Program. SACRAMENTO – Unanimous votes of both the California State Assembly and Senate propelled Assembly Bill 2196 to the Governor’s desk, … Read more
Online Resource Launched for Land Stewards September 11, 2024 (Sonoma, CA) – Three trusted nonprofit partners launched a new, free in-depth online resource for Sonoma County land stewards. Tending the … Read more
As we celebrate OAEC’s 30 years, we think back to 2009 when the WATER Institute was scoffed at for having the audacity to suggest that beaver, then considered a ‘nuisance,’ … Read more
People Over Plastic, a fiscally sponsored project of OAEC, is now Counterstream Media! From the Counterstream team: “Our new name reflects our mission to center the stories and perspectives that … Read more
Happy Birthday and congratulations to the Mother Garden turning 50 years old this summer! The Mother Garden, and its offspring, the Nursery were featured in the May/June 2024 issue of … Read more
Our hyper local news outlet, the Sonoma County Gazette, penned a great article outlining beaver as nature’s engineers, important for fire prevention, flood mitigation, groundwater recharge, and critical habitat creation. … Read more
Unveiling OAEC’s 2023 Update: Strategies for Change! We are proud of this new publication that reports on our accomplishments for this year through the lens of the four strategies that … Read more
Like Carlo Petrini’s Slow Food movement, we have our own “slow water movement” at OAEC. You might know it as the permaculture mantra, or perhaps you’ve seen it as part … Read more
We’re reporting back from two highly successful CalPBR Network workshops that took place in October, empowering folks to further advance their skills in process-based restoration and all of its benefits. … Read more
On July 24, the Associated Press published an article celebrating the new CDFW policy changes as they pertain to beaver restoration and management and quoted WATER Institute’s Kate Lundquist: “There … Read more
At the June 14, 2023 CA Fish and Game Commission meeting, the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) reported to the commissioners that they have enacted a new beaver … Read more
Watch WATER institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist in this Secretary Speaker Series webinar, hosted by California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, on Wednesday, July 12th from 12 noon – 1 pm. … Read more
“Oftentimes I think of watersheds as living lifeboats. From ridge to river, from summit to sea, from stem to stern, we have to rethink and retrofit these living lifeboats at … Read more
After more than a decade of a concerted effort to Bring Back the Beaver, OAEC and The WATER Institute are thrilled to announce that there are major policy changes happening … Read more
On May 24, we partnered with the California Beaver Policy Working Group and wrangled 50 state leaders from Sacramento to Doty Ravine to see beaver restoration in action. Protected since … Read more
Brock Dolman, Ecologist and Director of the OAEC Wildlands program, gave an online presentation for FireSafe Sonoma on May 23rd, 2023 introducing the concept of “Fuels to Flows” – turning … Read more
Neil Harvey, host of Bioneers Radio, interviews Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman to learn all about beaver: their history in North America, how they slow and spread water, create critical … Read more
April 24, 2023 – YES Magazine published an excellent article by our friend and photojournalist Brooke Anderson that features OAEC’s collaboration with North Bay Jobs with Justice (NBJwJ) and workers from their Farmworker … Read more
From “drought to deluge,” we are facing the drastic swings of the climate crisis – and grappling with how to respond. At OAEC, we hold an active and hopeful vision … Read more
Last month, OAEC was proud to support our fiscally sponsored project, Fenceline Watch, by applying and successfully receiving accreditation under the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)! Fenceline Watch is an environmental justice group fighting toxic pollution in … Read more
“It’s time to take our fire fears and connect that with our water woes!” – Brock Dolman As we thin and limb our forests and landscapes towards fire fuels reduction, … Read more
Since our announcement in July about the State’s monumental decision to fund the creation of a new Beaver Restoration Program to be led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, … Read more
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