[Lapg] OAEC Courses/Events Schedule 2005 Permaculture Related Courses Occidental CA

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

OAEC Courses/Events Schedule 2005  Permaculture Related Courses Occidental CA
	http://www.oaec.org/OAEC_Courses.html

Below is a list of the various courses and events happening at the 
Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in 2005. Catagories include Intentional 
Community & Group Process, Permaculture & Ecology, Children's Enrichment, 
Building & Carpentry, Plant Sales, Food, Visitor Tours and Special Events. 
Clicking on any course/event name (i.e. Starting and Sustaining Intentional 
Communities) will bring up its description from the corresponding program 
information page. Clicking on any section name (i.e. INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY 
and GROUP PROCESS) will also bring up the corresponding program information 
page.

To register for any of these, please fill out the on-line registration 
form, or call (707) 874-1557, ext. 201 or e-mail inquiry at oaec.org to 
receive a form in the mail.

Most multi-day courses are residential; meals & lodging included. Most 
course fees are sliding scale for registration up to 30 days in advance. 
Within 30 days, course fee is at top price. (See individual course 
descriptions for course fee details.)

Starting and Sustaining Intentional Communities	May 20­22 	
Starting and Sustaining Intentional Communities	October 21­23
Starting and Sustaining Intentional Communities
Dave Henson, and Adam Wolpert, with guest instructors
$425/$375 if registered two weeks in advance (includes meals and lodging)

Do you dream of establishing a land-based intentional community or 
education center? This course is designed to help you actualize that dream. 
Presentations and detailed hand-outs will cover topics such as visioning; 
how to find land and finance a purchase; the various legal forms available 
for holding land (limited liability company, corporation, land trust, 
etc.); organizing as a for-profit or a nonprofit; group decision-making 
process (meetings, agreements, facilitation, agenda management, conflict 
resolution); financial organization of your community; legal and insurance 
issues and costs; dealing with zoning and regulations; and long-term 
planning. We will also tour OAEC’s community and educational center, 
including our gardens, permaculture projects, natural buildings, and the 
community’s kitchen and food system.

Permaculture Design SEP 24­ OCT 7
Penny Livingston, and Brock Dolman with guest instructors
$1350/$1250 if registered two weeks in advance (residential course). Some 
partial work exchange opportunities are available for this course.

Whether you currently own property or dream of it, this two-week intensive 
course will immerse you in information, ideas and inspiration for how to 
design sustainable, regenerative systems in balance with your home 
ecosystem. You will learn the ethics, principles and practice of “permanent 
culture,” by exploring topics such as organic gardening, mulching, natural 
building techniques, forest farming, water retention and regeneration, 
erosion control, community processes, and much more. Using a combination of 
lecture, discussion, hands-on activities at OAEC’s 80-acre site, visits to 
local permaculture examples, and a group design project, you will have the 
chance to integrate and apply the concepts of permaculture during almost 
100 hours of course time. Upon completion of the course, participants 
receive a Certificate of Permaculture Design.

This course is the product of a long-standing collaboration between OAEC’s 
Brock Dolman and Penny Livingston of the Permaculture Institute of Northern 
California. As OAEC enters its second decade, we also celebrate our tenth 
year as a permaculture school, the most established and longest continually 
operating such site in California. In that time, we have offered 22 courses 
to well over 400 students, and consistently hear from graduates that it is 
a “life-changing” experience.

Erosion Control and Water Management	April 24
Brock Dolman
$25 (no meal included)

The focus of this course is on preventing erosion problems before they 
occur and turning stormwater challenges into benefits. You will explore low 
impact, practical, small-scale surface-water management techniques for 
roads, parking lots and homes, and learn how to minimize topsoil loss and 
siltation of watersheds while maximizing water retention on your property. 
You will be introduced to cost-effective techniques for groundwater 
recharge, sediment control, mitigation of impervious surfaces such as 
pavement, flood attenuation, and wildlife habitat creation. The latest 
Clean Water Act regulations require all cities to implement source control 
techniques such as those presented in this course. Examination of various 
examples on the OAEC site will augment lectures and discussion.	

Bird Watching	May 22

Brock Dolman
$25 (no meal included)

This field tour of OAEC’s gardens and wildlands will emphasize bird 
identification skills for beginning birders. You will learn the basic 
aspects of behavior, morphology, field marks, life history, and habitat 
enhancements for all species encountered during the tour. OAEC’s ecological 
preserve provides habitat for over 100 species of birds, and we can expect 
to observe several dozen species during this class. Bring binoculars, bird 
book, field notebook, and beginner’s mind. Be prepared for easy walking in 
the field and for wet or muddy conditions.
	
Sustainable Forestry	July 23	

Tim Metz, Brock Dolman, and Carol Nieukirk
$110/$95 if registered two weeks in advance (lunch included)

This one-day workshop is for landowners, land managers and those interested 
in sustainable forestry practices. We will spend the day in the forests of 
OAEC with registered professional forester Tim Metz of Restoration 
Forestry, Inc. Discussion and observation topics will include 
scale-appropriate timber harvesting; non-timber forest products; stand 
thinning; fuel load management; forest health; wildlife habitat 
enhancement; road and upland erosion control strategies; relationship of 
forests to salmonid restoration and over-all watershed health; and the 
process of restoration forestry property planning.
	
Introduction to Permaculture	November 18­20
Brock Dolman
$375/$325 if registered two weeks in advance (includes meals and lodging)

Reconciling the need to meet basic human needs with concern for the 
sustainability and regeneration of the natural world is the essence of 
permacultural design. This course will expose you to the basic principles 
and applications of permaculture with a variety of lectures, discussions 
and hands-on activities in OAEC’s 80-acre garden, community and wilderness. 
Topics will range from water catchment to erosion control, organic and 
polycultural food production, natural building, site design, and more.

	
Basins of Relations: Starting and Sustaining Community Watershed Groups 
December 2­5

Brock Dolman with guest instructors
$200 (includes meals and lodging)

This four-day intensive residential training is designed to promote and 
support the creation of North Coast community-based watershed groups. This 
training is specifically designed for teams of three to four residents, 
with each team representing a local watershed. You will learn about 
watershed processes, salmonid ecology, water quality monitoring, in-stream 
restoration, biotechnical engineering, uplands erosion control, road 
restoration, native habitat restoration, sustainable forestry, community 
group process, and funding opportunities for watershed groups. Your team 
will develop a watershed group formation plan during the training and 
commit to facilitating the creation of a community-based group in your home 
watershed. Enrollment is limited and subject to an application process 
intended to select committed watershed-based teams. Call Brock Dolman (ext. 
206) for details.