Eco-Road Trip – Occidental Arts & Ecology Center

Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) – Summary:

  • Who: N/A
  • What: Visited OAEC, worked in the plant nursery and ate with the volunteers
  • When: Wednesday, March 28
  • Where: Occidental, CA

Quick Resources:

My Route:

Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post

 

My Travel Story:

My day started off by heading over to the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC), an 80-acre research, demonstration, education, advocacy and community-organizing center in West Sonoma County, California that develops strategies for regional-scale community resilience and the restoration of biological and cultural diversity.

I managed to schedule my visit on one of OAEC’s work volunteer days, which is how I got to visit OAEC for free – by helping label plants in the nursery for an upcoming sale to the public.

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Eco-Road Trip – Russian House #1

Russian House #1 – Summary:

  • Who: Bruce Schmidt; Tatiana Urusova
  • What: Drove to the coast and stopped at tourist shops; Visited the Russian House #1
  • When: Wednesday, March 28
  • Where: Jenner, CA

Quick Resources:

My Route:

Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post

 

My Travel Story:

After leaving FrogSong Cohousing Community in Cotati, CA, I drove back to the Pacific coastline, leisurely taking my time because my hostess for Russian House # 1, Tatiana Urusova, wouldn’t be back until later that night to show me around.

“Russian house#1 is a restaurant with healthy Russian fusion food. It’s a cultural center and PostNonClassical Science Center, built for human development.” — RH#1 Facebook Page

 

So I piddled around on my drive and stopped at Harbor View Gifts & Goodies, where there was a nearby saltwater taffy shop and a view of the bay where I took pictures.

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Eco-Road Trip – Permaculture Skills Center & FrongSong Cohousing

Permaculture Skills Center & Frogsong Cohousing – Summary:

  • Who: Erik Ohlsen; Anila Roberts
  • What: Stumbled across the Permaculture Skills Center; Stopped by Cali Kind Clothing Co. tie-dye shop; Visited Frogsong Cohousing community
  • When: Wednesday, March 28
  • Where: Sebastopol, CA; Cotati, CA

Quick Resources:

My Route:

Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post

 

My Travel Story:

Leaving Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) that afternoon after volunteering in the plant nursery, I headed towards my second planned destination – FrogSong Cohousing Community in Cotati, CA.

However, I was unaware of how saturated the area was with permaculture, ecology and sustainability – not only in terms of businesses and organizations, but also as the local and cultural mindsets.

Which is how I coincidentally stumbled on the Permaculture Skills Center, which I had followed online while I was initially learning about permaculture, and its onsite partner company, Permaculture Artisans.

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Eco-Road Trip – Maitreya Mountain Village

Maitreya Mountain Village – Summary:

  • Who: Dan Schultz
  • What: Visited the Maitreya Mountain Village
  • When: Tuesday, March 27
  • Where: Gasquet, CA

Quick Resources:

My Route:

Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip Blog Post

 My Travel Story:

Waking up in my hammock from a freezing night with little sleep – I was up early and ready for my first ecovillage stop of the day at Maitreya Mountain Village (MMV), deep in the Siskiyou Mountains of California.

 

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Planning my Eco-Inspired Road Trip

This post outlines my Eco-Inspired Road Trip route from Eugene, Oregon, back to Dallas, Texas, including the initial destinations and sights I planned to see along the way, but didn’t manage to see all of them.

I’ve also included the websites I used as resources for planning my stops.

Trip Planning Resources & Websites

 

 

Google My Map – Initial Planning Map

*Note: I didn’t make all of the destinations listed, but I sure tried to!

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LV Residential Life – March Highlights Pt. 2

Before I left Lost Valley at the end of the month, I planned a few excursions in the area and around Portland, Oregon.

There was a SquareOne Village tiny house community, Emerald Village Eugene, grand opening for the public in Eugene, and I was really looking forward to seeing it! Most of the houses onsite were finished in terms of their exteriors, and several already had residents living in them. It was great to see a city supported, experimental community for the chronically homeless. The model they operated on was that after a rigorous interview process for residency, community members were given a fully furnished space and were required to pay a percentage of their personal income to cover costs. Many of the current residents relied on bicycles and public transportation for travel to their jobs, and some of them were married and dual incomes that helped them financially afford to get back on their feet.

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