Bringing the Beaver Back in an Uninsurable State: With Brock Dolman, co-founder of the Occidental Arts & Ecology Centre

The RegenNarration Podcast

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A couple of weeks ago, I received some big news. The California State Assembly unanimously passed what’s been dubbed the ‘Beaver Bill’. Yes, California is bringing the beaver back. For those who might not be fully across how big this news is, the beaver is a keystone species that assists in restoring watershed and ecosystem functions in areas that need them most. And in an era of warming, fire and desertification, and with insurers leaving the state in droves, recognition of this is growing here. That’s with thanks to the community that’s been building a campaign for 25 years. And this is just the tip of the beaver dam of what they’ve been up to in that time.
The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) has just celebrated its 30th anniversary, and as it happens, has also just been announced as the 2024 Non-profit of the Year for its Senate District. It’s a wonderfully restored 80-acre residential, research, demonstration, advocacy and organizing center in Sonoma County, California, a bit over 50 miles north of San Francisco. And extending out from there, it develops strategies for regional-scale community resilience, working with tribes, non-government organizations, private landowners, and an array of agencies to achieve this, locally and internationally.
So you can imagine how happy I was to meet one of its co-founders while we were in California, Brock Dolman. A man Judith Schwartz describes as an all-round brilliant natural historian, restoration practitioner, teacher and raconteur. All of that is in evidence in this conversation, as we trace Brock’s fascinating life journey from military child to adventurous seeker to founding the OAEC with some other ‘crazy people’ with little money. And how together they would become a powerhouse at bringing people together for increasingly remarkable regeneration.
As always, head here for chapter markers. You can find a transcript there too (also available on Apple and some other apps), which is AI generated and imperfect, but hopefully provides greater access for those who need or like to read.
Recorded 9 May 2024.
Title slide: Brock Dolman.
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Music:
Green Shoots, by The Nomadics.
Regeneration, by Amelia Barden, from Regenerating Australia.
The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests (thanks to Josie Symons).
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Chapters

1. Music, Preview, Introduction & Supporter Thanks (00:00:00)

2. Cane Toads cult classic?! (00:04:00)

3. Rematriation and Land Back Movement Underway in California (00:07:00)

4. The OAEC story (00:14:00)

5. How did they do it financially? (00:19:00)

6. Brock’s fascinating life journey from military child to the point of founding OAEC (00:21:00)

7. Hitch hiking to Ecuador (00:31:30)

8. Witnessing Change in Central America (00:35:50)

9. Obtaining the property (& a picture of its degeneration in colonial times) (00:41:00)

10. The fire, carbon & water story shaping OAEC’s regeneration (00:43:50)

11. Taking this work beyond the local area (00:57:15)

12. Ego-system re-storyation (00:59:45)

13. The uninsurable state has arrived – & the community doing it for themselves (01:00:30)

14. Bringing back the beaver (01:08:15)

15. Migrant farmers bringing their Indigenous knowledge to restoration at scale (01:17:40)

16. The Beaver Bill & the social transformation accompanying it (01:19:00)

17. Music, Concluding Words & Last Updates (01:23:45)