Participants' Information
The following information about the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center facility is provided for course and retreat participants. Please read this carefully (you may want to print out this section to bring with you). If you have any questions, please talk to the course instructor or a staff member. Thank you and have a great time!
Housing & Accommodations During Your Stay 
Your sleeping accommodations will be in our two yurts. Or, if you prefer, you are welcome to camp. Please let us know in advance if you plan to camp, and familiarize yourself with the "Camping Restrictions" flyer for where to camp and appropriate etiquette. We provide the yurt bedding (clean sheets, pillows, and blankets); campers need to bring their own tent and sleeping bag.
You may shower in the yurt bathhouse or use the common bathhouse (with private showers). Please bring your own towel. We have two composting toilets next to the main kitchen. There are flush toilets in the yurt bathhouse, one in the main bathhouse, and one on the side of the arts studio/meeting room building. Please help us conserve electricity and water. If you notice lights or the tap left on unattended, please turn them off. If you have any problems with water or electricity, let a staff person know as soon as possible.
There are lots of raccoon, skunk, possum, fox and wood rats around the buildings at night. Please do not leave any food in the yurts or outside. Keep the doors closed to all buildings.
Meals at the Center
Center staff will prepare all meals and clean up after. We cook delicious, plentiful vegetarian meals, using as much fresh organic produce from our own gardens as possible. Please let us know if you have any special dietary needs in advance of your arrival, and we will accommodate those during our menu planning. Meals are generally served at the following times: breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 12:30, dinner at 6:30. Please see your course or retreat schedule for exact times. For lunch and dinner, a bell rings two times 15 minutes before the meal is served, and three times when the meal is ready. We do not serve alcohol with our meals, but you are welcome to bring it. Beer and wine can be purchased at the local markets in Occidental. We provide tea and coffee in the meeting room kitchenette. Feel free to bring extra sodas and snacks.
The Garden & Backcountry
The Center has many beautiful areas for strolling, hiking, and quiet meditation, including 70 acres of wildlands in the backcountry. Feel free to walk through our gardens. However, please stay on the paths, and refrain from picking anything, since many of the plants in the garden are being propagated for seed. Also, do not drink from water faucets in the garden, as the water is not potable. The core area of the Center (about 10 of the 80 acres) is surrounded by a deer fence. There are several gates that you may pass through on foot. Please be sure that the deer fence gates are closed and latched at all times.
When exploring our wildlands, pack out all trash and do not disturb the wildlife, including turtles and fish. When hiking outside of the core area, watch for poison oak - there is a lot of it around! If you're not sure what it looks like, ask a staff person. Be aware of ticks in spring, summer, and fall (May through July is peak tick season). There are several kinds of ticks in our area. Lyme disease can be transmitted by the Western Black Legged Tick (Ixodes pacificus). Check your skin and clothes after walking in tall grass or wooded areas. More information is available in the Center office.
Clothes & Personal Items
Please bring the following: work clothes, a flashlight, a water bottle, a towel, phone cards, sturdy shoes or boots for walks on the land, a bathing suit (optional in the hot tub, sauna, and pond), and slippers (we remove shoes while inside buildings here). The weather is variable during all seasons so consider dressing in layers and bringing weather-appropriate gear (rain jacket, rain boots, umbrella, a sun hat, sunscreen).
Other General Information
Shoes off: Please take your shoes off before going into the kitchen, dining room, meeting room, yurt dorms, or office.
Pets: No pets please! Because of the sensitive environment, diverse wildlife, and native poison oak, we have a no-pet policy.
Restricted areas at OAEC: There are many private residences at the Center. Please do not venture into these buildings or surrounding areas unescorted:
- The solar cabins and paths between them (below the South Garden)
- The greenhouse and attached cabin (downhill northwest of the kitchen)
- The two homes downhill and east of the kitchen
- The wood shop, wood shed, and tool storage areas
- The office
- The several cabins you may encounter while walking in the backcountry
Smoking is not allowed anywhere on the property except at the picnic tables directly outside the main kitchen and in the dirt and gravel turn-around in the office/bathhouse area. We are very serious about this due to fire danger. Please put your extinguished butts in the trash.
Pond Use: You can swim in the pond at your own risk. Bathing suits are optional.
Telephone Use: There is a phone in the meeting room which can be used to make outgoing calls. Please bring long-distance cards. There are pay phones in Occidental (1/2 mile away). Messages can be left for you at the main number (707-874-1557 x 201).
In Case of Emergency: Use the phones in the office (press one of the "Line" buttons, then dial 911). If there is a fire or if you are alone and need help, ring the dinner bell hanging from the oak in front of the kitchen repeatedly until someone comes to help (the bell can be heard all over the property).
Quiet Hours: After 10:00 pm, please do not drum anywhere, or make music or loud noise in the yurts or the dorm rooms. Acoustic music is OK in the dining room after 10:00 pm.
Hot Tub Use: Please shower before getting in the tub! You can use the hot tub anytime (it can only hold 4 or so - please be brief if others are waiting).
Sauna Use: If you have a group of folks who want to take an evening sauna, please tell the instructor or a staff person before dinner so we can stoke it up (it takes about an hour to prepare).
Meeting Room Kitchenette: You can make tea or coffee here. Please clean up after yourself.
Dish Migration: You wouldn't believe where glasses and dishes end up during a large workshop here! If you take something out of a building, bring it back to that building.
Library: The meeting room has lots of books - these are the private books of the residents. Feel free to read them, as long as you return them to where you found them.