The Ecology of Us

Arriving at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) around 4:30 last Saturday, I had hardly any expectations. I drove down the long gravel driveway, stepped out of my car, and took a minute to look around and observe my home for the next 15 days. There were some of the most beautiful, and tallest Redwoods I’d ever seen and a quiet but lively sound coming from the surrounding forest.

When you can hear everything, see everything, and most of all, feel a part of everything, you inherently know your effect on the rest of the world, in both the micro and macro world of which we all have some sense. This is ecology; of the landscape, the wildlife, and of us. This is what you feel here at the center.

In the Permaculture Design Intensive, we learn about all of the nested systems within the larger realm of the planet. There are tangible components to these system, for instance, where we take shelter, the food we eat, how we should be producing energy, and how we deal with entropy or waste within the system, and then there are more psychological or ethereal elements to the system. The “ego-system” as they refer to it here. This is where the journey into permaculture has felt at times more like a retreat and less like a class.

I can’t say I’ve never felt a deep sense of awakening before. I’ve done meditation retreats, wilderness solos, and had other very awakening experiences in my life. But what I truly appreciate about permaculture, and the intensive introduction and observations that I’ve had in the last eight days, is that it’s tied everything together in a realistic and poignant way. Most of all, it transforms ecology into a tangible, observable system of relationships that makes it feel like less of a science and more a system to mimic in our everyday experience. Whether it be how one deals with conflict with another person or resource management, permaculture makes ecology approachable and livable. And doesn’t that make sense considering we are already part of the larger system and always have been?

There is no denying that catastrophe has been occurring, is occurring at the present moment, and will continue to occur all over the world. In a talk I witnessed on Tuesday evening, Dave Hensen, the executive director of the center, spoke about globalization and the many problems that we as a collective species will continue to face. It is the era of “peak everything” including: oil, water, agriculture, atmosphere, population, cultural diversity, and biological diversity. But, if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably already somewhat aware of these issues...

So what is my experience of all of this? It falls somewhere between intense frustration, magnetized by the fact that I’m learning a million new things everyday and my limited capacity to retain it all, and then strangely enough, I’m beginning to feel simply content. Often, I find myself obsessing over my power, power defined as the capacity to exert force and energy in order to achieve something. But understanding the relationship between my power, and my ability to sit content with whatever situation might arise -- my self-empowered identity -- is crucial in understanding what I’m actually able to do, what I can control, and what I’m able to convey to others.

In my next few blogs, I'll try to incorporate more about what specifically is being done here at the center and around the world regarding dynamic solutions to many of these problems. But today is my first day off all week, and what feels like the first space I've had to breathe. But I can say that I feel fully saturated with some incredible ideas that I am very excited to share with any and all who'll listen. In the mean time, here are a few pictures...

Path down into the North Garden, just west and up a slope is the yurt I've been staying in.

Our amazing kitchen that makes the best vegetarian food ever!

Community dining area outside the kitchen.

Another path down into the North Garden.

Brock Dolman, one of our two main instructors, showing us the details of the OAEC watershed on a map.

Brock talking culvert system design, and stream hydrology.

The South Garden

I think this Dahlia's face looks like it has a big toothy monster mouth

Sprinkling dahlia petals into the salad mix, yep, they're edible!

Doug Gosling, the Garden Manager of the OAEC, who knows latin names for everything and is a soil science expert.

Miss Annie Beall, lovely wonderful garden goddess

Learning how to use an A-frame (level) to measure contours of the land and make swales (a water catchment and infiltration method)

Our beautiful swale, which we then sheet mulched and will eventually be revegetated. You can see Jackie's tent to the right, there are people camping all over the site, something I'll probably do for the second week of class.

This is the pond at the California School of Herbal Studies down the road (our design project site). I'll be working specifically on this area of their property, studying the hydrology of the watershed and its inlets into the pond. We're going to restore it, hoping to provide water for swimming on hot days, irrigation, emergency use, and make it look beautiful too!

Thanks for reading! Check back soon for more posts. Now I'm going to enjoy the rest of my day off...sigh.

Much love.