In April 2024, WATER Institute Co-Director Kate Lundquist and our close collaborator, Kevin Swift of Swift Water Design, headed to France. French artist Suzanne Husky and French author and professor … 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
On March 26, 2024, The Los Angeles Times published a fantastic article titled, Yes, beavers can help stop wildfires. And more places in California are embracing them. In it, writer … Read more
Great news! Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) has introduced a “beaver bill,” Assembly Bill 2196, that codifies the new Beaver Restoration Program at the California Department of Fish & Wildlife … Read more
The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center WATER Institute is humbled and excited to announce that we have been awarded a $2 million block grant to develop a program to build … Read more
Join us at the Sonoma County Seed Swap! For the first time since the beginning of Covid, the Sonoma County Seed Swap will happen on March 3rd, 2024 from 2PM-5PM at the … Read more
The state’s new Beaver Restoration Program completed its first relocation in October, 2023. See the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) press release here. We were honored to be … 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
Two big beaver hits today! First up is an interview with Kate and Brock in The Los Angeles Times about beaver benefits to landscapes. The story is titled, “Restoring California … Read more
In honor of the day, we want to celebrate beaver being a keystone species, meaning the habitats they create benefit countless other plant and animal species in California ecosystems. Species … 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
Did you know OAEC is home to over 127 species of fungi, 326 species of animalia and 290 species of plantae? Since 2003, Brock Dolman, Director of the OAEC Wildlands … 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
While there are all sorts of serious reasons to love beaver (including their ability to create habitat for many species, buffer the effects of climate change, increase the presence of … Read more
This spring, OAEC and the WATER Institute were honored to welcome world renowned water conservationist Dr. Rajendra Singh to OAEC for a weekend of skill sharing and inspiration. Dr Rajendra … Read more
Ecesis, the quarterly news journal of SerCal (California Society for Ecological Restoration) features an article written by our own WATER Institute Co-Directors, Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman, and Development and … Read more
Are you interested in learning how to run a successful retreat and education center? Join us as a Program Admin Intern to support a wide range of OAEC’s internal programs … Read more
The Facilities Internship tackles the usual array of facilities related work that maintains and improves the infrastructure at OAEC. The facilities intern works in areas such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical, … Read more
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