2022 Update
OAEC works to inspire communities to build and imagine the ecologically regenerative and socially just world that we know is possible. At OAEC’s 80-acre landbase in Sonoma County, we demonstrate … Read more
New Multimedia Series on WATER
What is your relationship with water? Do you know where your water comes from or how it gets to you? For the most part, modern developed societies have taken water … Read more
Compost Revolution in the Mother Garden
As the number of guests in our retreat program has increased in recent years, so has the volume of food scraps that our kitchen produces. For decades, our chickens, goats, … Read more
Beaver Mania Hits the News!
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
Community grazing project at OAEC, Two Sisters Place & Mighty Arrow Ranch
This past spring, OAEC and the Sowing Circle community were thrilled to graze a flock of 54 sheep and 12 goats across nearly 10 acres of coastal prairie and meadow … Read more
Beyond Defensible Space – Consultations Webinar
OAEC Wildlands and our partners are hosting a Zoom webinar on July 27th from 6-8pm PST to wrap up our “Beyond Defensible Space” workshop series, an exploration of wildfire mitigation strategies that … Read more
State Leaders Enact Historic Beaver Restoration Program!
SACRAMENTO (June 30, 2022) – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to launch a new Beaver Restoration Program at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be enacted at the … Read more
Russian River Coho Partnership Concludes a Decade-Long Collaboration
photo by Brock Dolman Salmon are a keystone species, inextricably linked to the health of our coastal ecosystems, yet over the past century their populations have experienced devastating declines. In … Read more
How is OAEC dealing with the drought?
The old saying “Don’t miss the water ‘till the well runs dry” couldn’t be more apt in this year’s unprecedented drought. Wells and reservoirs are drying up around the county, … Read more
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
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
