Focus on Arts and Ecology

Purpose of the articles posted in the blog is to share knowledge and occurring events for ecology and biodiversity conservation and protection whereas biology will be human’s security. Remember, these are meant to be conversation starters, not mere broadcasts :) so I kindly request and would vastly prefer that you share your comments and thoughts on the blog-version of this Focus on Arts and Ecology (all its past + present + future).

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2019 July Newsletter

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In this issue:

  • Measuring Bird Biodiversity in the OAEC Wildlands
  • Resilient Community Design at Saint Stephen's Church
  • Plant of the Week - Bolivian Cucumbers (photo above)
  • Who's at OAEC?
    • Climate Justice Alliance - Just Transition Finance Training
    • Movement Generation Fundraising Event
    • Farallones Rural Institute Reunion
  • Chautauqua Tickets On Sale Now!
 
 
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Soundscapes to Landscapes: Measuring Bird Diversity in the OAEC Wildlands

The OAEC Wildlands Program uses traditional knowledge and modern science to tend the 70 acres which are home to an estimated 106 species of birds. In May, OAEC’s Wildlands Program team, Jim Coleman and Brock Dolman met with Point Blue Conservation Science​ staff to deploy a number of sound recording sensors at selected locations on the preserve. The goal of this project is to monitor bird diversity in Sonoma County. The soundscape data, in conjunction with images from state-of-the-art sensors in airplanes and satellites, is processed to identify bird species and will be used to assess the factors that determine bird distributions over a variety of landscapes and conditions. Read more on our blog
 
 
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Resilient Community Design at Saint Stephen's Church

Pictured above, Spring Permaculture Design students work on a community permaculture project - the installation of a food forest at the Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in Sebastopol. Permaculture instructor and community facilitator, Kendall Dunnigan, has been working for several years with members of the congregation to come up with a design plan for the grounds that includes an area for growing food for the food bank, quiet space for meditation and worship, a children's garden, a pollinator garden etc. This long-awaited installation by the PDC class was a momentous occasion!

The project team at the church is thrilled with the results and report that the plants are growing in beautifully and the space is being utilized more and more by members and neighbors alike. Saint Stephen's is part of a growing movement of faith communities that are centralizing land stewardship as a core expression of their mission.  Learn more about the Saint Stephen's project and OAEC's Resilient Community Design methodology and facilitation.
 
 

OAEC Nursery Plant of the Week:  Bolivian Cucumbers

This week we're excited to put out two rare plants that we have loved growing for many years in the gardens at OAEC: the vining Bolivian cucumbers, Caigua (Cyclanthera pedata) and Achocha (Cyclanthera brachystachya). Archaeological records show that they have been traditionally grown in the Andes as food and medicinal crops from the time of the Incas to the present. They are eaten in their immature as well as mature stages. When small, Caigua and Achocha taste remarkably like their distant relative, cucumbers, but as they mature, they become hollow and are known as stuffing cucumbers, tasting more like green peppers and are delicious stuffed with rice, meats, fish or cheeses and herbs. Both are vigorously climbing annuals that are highly ornamental and are great for covering fences and trellises. Caigua, pictured below, has beautiful 5-parted palmate leaves and its fruit is smooth and look like a lady’s slipper, while Achocha has more cucumber-like leaves and fruit covered in soft spines, pictured at the top of this newsletter.
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Open Sat & Sun 10am-5pm

Love the Mother Garden Biodiversity Nursery? We rely on word of mouth to build awareness of our business and mission. The best compliment you can provide is to leave a review so that others can learn about us.  Thank you! 
Add your review here.
 
 

Who's at OAEC?

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Climate Justice AllianceJust Transition Finance Training

What is a Just Transition?
Building the movement toward a Just Transition is at the heart of OAEC's Vision and Strategy.  Last month, OAEC Board Member Gopal Dayaneni and longtime collaborator Yuki Kidokoro co-hosted the Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) Just Transition Finance Training at OAEC. Representatives of CJA member organizations met to explore what it means to decolonize our relationship to finance, capital, debt and money and to orient towards Non-Extractive Finance as one model for financial support and technical assistance for self-sustaining Just Transition projects. The training provided members concrete skills for establishing and supporting Just Transition Projects, and engaged member organizations in developing/strengthening projects, local loan funds, and involvement with CJA's Reinvest in Our Power (RiOP) Loan Fund.
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Movement Generation Fundraising Event

In June, we were excited to launch the first in our series of fundraising dinners at OAEC to raise awareness and resources for allied cultural and social change organizations. Our inaugural event was for our partners at Movement Generation who have held their Justice and Ecology retreats here at OAEC for over 10 years. Underwritten by our colleague and supporter, Nancy Schaub, this inspiring (and tasty!) evening was geared toward foundation staff and donors and raised a handsome sum for MG.
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Farallones Institute Rural Center Reunion

Here at the OAEC site in 1974 through 1990, the Farallones Institute, a non-profit sustainability training center with a mission very similar to ours, became an outpost for forward environmental thinkers. They laid both the physical and cultural groundwork for what is now the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center and Sowing Circle Community. This Spring, we had the distinct honor and pleasure to host the 45th anniversary reunion of the Farallones members, or as they affectionately refer to themselves, the “Faraloonies!” Thank you Farallones - we are the lucky heirs to your legacy! Pictured here is the raising of the barn in 1979 (The main timbers for the barn were reused from a defunct pier in the San Franscisco Bay.)  Check out the article for more old photos of the OAEC land and its inhabitants from the 70's...
 
 

17th Annual Chautauqua Revue
September 4 - 7, 2019

Tickets On Sale Now!

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Join us for our annual extravaganza of community celebration at the North Garden Stage. With storytelling, music, vaudeville, and circus, the Revue is a show like no other!

Please note that this year, for the first time, seating is assigned. You will be able to select your seats when you buy your tickets, so get 'em early in order to secure the best possible seats. All shows last year sold out well in advance.
Click Here to Buy Tickets!
Occidental Arts & Ecology Center  •  15290 Coleman Valley Rd., Occidental, CA 95465  •  (707) 874-1557  •  oaec@oaec.org  •  www.oaec.org  
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