OAEC’s Response to COVID-19
updated March 30, 2020
We at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center are working to make a safe, proactive, and appropriately-scaled response to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Our thoughts go to the communities, both locally and internationally, that have been impacted. Keeping our program participants, guests, residents, volunteers, neighbors, and staff members safe is our highest priority.
Like many challenges of today — climate change, mass extinction, racism, environmental destruction, resource inequity — the coronavirus threat is both personal and collective. On the one hand, we are concerned for ourselves and our families. On the other hand, solutions to challenges like this one come in community. We’re in conversation with our allies about how to move forward in this moment, and we are looking forward to being able to reopen our center to be able to bring people together around the issues that face us all. We are proactively taking preventative measures throughout our campus and acknowledging the dynamic and unknown nature of these conditions as they unfold.
Below you will find a list of specific actions we are taking:
We have cancelled the Spring PDC course, summer School Garden Teacher Trainings, and all rentals through June.
For the months of March and April, OAEC will suspend our cancelation policy for rentals and course participants. We have reached out individually to those enrolled. Any rental group or course participant wishing to reschedule or cancel their registration for a full refund (minus processing fees) may do so by contacting:
- Rental Program: Cooper Freeman, , OAEC Program Manager
- Spring PDC: Jane Brelvi, , OAEC Office Manager
Wednesday garden volunteer days and all tours are cancelled until further notice.
Effective March 18th, OAEC will close Garden Volunteer Day and cancel all tours until further notice. Recognizing that the Mother Garden provides a healthy space for connection, beauty and restoration, in the next few weeks we hope to assess whether or not we will be able to open our gardens again in a way that is adaptive to the situation and safe for all. Please keep checking this webpage for further developments.
The Mother Garden Nursery will open according to schedule on April 4th for pick up of online plant orders.
Now more than ever, spending time in the garden growing food and medicine is one of the most valuable things we can do for our collective survival. While the physical nursery will be closed for in-person shopping, Mother Garden Nursery will “open” according to schedule on April 4th for pick up of online plant orders only.
In lieu of our annual “Friends of the Nursery Preview Sale”, we are reserving opening weekend April 4th and 5th for order pick up for our Friends of the Nursery members. All other orders will be fulfilled the following weekend and onwards in the order they were received.
For the safety of our staff, residents, and customers, we are not accepting drop-in visitors at any time. Please do not show up to the nursery without pre-ordering and getting a confirmation from us first. Thanks for bearing with us as we figure out a way to get plants to people in a way that is safe and efficient.
Visit the main nursery page to join Friends of the Nursery, Browse Our Plant List or click below to place your order.