Downstairs in historic Trillium School: group living, kitchen, dining, &
classroom.
The Ecostery
Foundation of North America defines Ecostery as: "a facility, stewarded land,
and Nature sanctuary where Ecosophy (ecological wisdom and harmony) is learned,
practiced, and taught." The D.E.E.P. Ecostery program
provides a real-life training opportunity for environmental educators,
naturalists, earth stewards, and
activists in an intentional community setting on stewarded Land, our wilderness Nature
sanctuary.
Renovated trout hatchery building serves as Ecostery Library.
ECOSTERY
CURRICULUM: an interdisciplinary course of study and experience.
The interdisciplinary Ecostery
curriculum collects
perspectives from sciences, humanities, social studies, and education to
immerse participants in connections leading to growth, transformation, and
evolving a Sense of Place. Credits are either 400-level undergraduate or
500-level graduate, transfer to most accredited colleges and universities,
and apply as PDU and continuing education credits for professional educators.
Please Note: Ecostery participants need not be
enrolled in a college or university, or be professional teachers. The academic
credit is optional.
SC403k: Natural History of the Dakubetede Wilderness
(5 science
credits)
The
study of natural history provides an opening into the process of developing a
Sense of Place. Familiarizing oneself with the plant and animal inhabitants of
a particular place, and learning about that place’s ecosystems and human
history comprise the first steps of becoming indigenous to that place. SC403k is an
eight-week journey toward developing a Sense of Place in the Dakubetede
Wilderness. Natural History studies challenge us here, as a high degree of
biodiversity has evolved in a mosaic of diverse ecosystems draped over rugged
terrains formed by complex geology.
We explore the discipline of Natural History
as applied to the Little Applegate River watershed, and as a method of cultivating a naturalist's eye
towards the world wherever we look. We learn the names and life histories of the
life forms around us, as well as the process for identifying organisms in
general. Observation and questioning serve as our tools for seeing deeper into
the complexities of the natural world. As we develop a foundation of
understanding about the ecological systems we encounter, we seek to connect this
knowledge to our goals as conservationists.
Wildlife biologist Simon Wray teaching Western Pond Turtle Workshop.
SC402t: Applied Conservation Biology: Protecting and
Restoring Biodiversity
(3 science credits)
We reach a deeper connection and
understanding of nature through our natural history studies. In Applied
Conservation Biology, we use that deeper connection and understanding in
learning how to identify and counteract threats to the biodiversity of nature. We learn how to protect
and strengthen the power and balance of the natural
world. Locally, we defend our habitat, our quality of life, and our sense of
place through education and outreach with our watershed conservation
organization, TELAV (Threatened & Endangered Little Applegate Valley).
Love where you Live; Defend what you Love!
We will be reading and discussing the fundamentals of conservation
biology, as well as some of the cutting edge material just being published.
These readings will equip us to expand the preliminary Little Applegate Wildlands Network Conservation Plan (LAWN-CP) started
and expanded by previous
Ecostery sessions. The LAWN-CP is a pro-active strategy for conserving
biodiversity in our watershed using state-of-the-art methodologies being
developed by The Wildlands Project.
Experiences gathered
during this course will prove invaluable for participants considering a career
in conservation biology, environmental education, or environmental activism. The
pace and intensive flow of this work provides a realistic insight into the
rigors of professional work in these fields.
Dr. Jacob Kann teaching Aquatic Ecology Workshop.
HU402k: Environmental Ethics: Practicing Deep Ecology
(3 humanities credits)
Our
experiences connecting with nature, and our efforts working to protect nature,
form the foundation for learning to develop our own personal code of ethics, a
biocentric guide for our decisions of lifestyle as members of the planetary
community. Do our personal choices help or hinder nature, and by effect, humankind?
In
this course we examine the size and impacts of our individual, group, and
societal footprint on the planet. Our readings and discussions of ecocentric
philosophy, as applied to everyday life, form the basis for examining choices that
lead to formulation of a "deep ecology" personal code of environmental
ethics. The connection between patterns of consumption and the deterioration of
planetary life-support systems serves as a baseline for participants to examine
the changes necessary to adopt "greener" lifeways. Discussions revolve
around these lifestyle choices regarding consumerism, energy use, dwelling,
diet, food production, occupations, organizations, parenting, activism,
wilderness use, recycling, health care, and more.
SS402u: Community Studies: Ecostery as Intentional Community
(3 social studies credits)
The global marketplace, toxic culture, consumer
society, and increasing destruction of nature all require a paradigm shift in
our concept of community. In the Community Studies course, we explore how
intentional community can serve as an experiential and educational setting for
an Ecostery, where connection with nature, defense of biodiversity, and making
ethical choices create a lifeway in harmony with nature.
Intentional community is a lifeway paradigm currently experiencing a
resurgence as people sensitive to climate change and the global ecology crisis search for less
consumptive ways to live. Ecostery is where intentional community becomes an
educational center for exploring ecologically sensitive lifeways. Hands-on work
on community projects, participation in community process, and interaction with
community members supplement discussions based on the text and other readings. The natural beauty of the D.E.E.P. Ecostery and surrounding wilderness provide
inspiration to complement the academic and experiential portions of this course.
ED406w: Creating a Wilderness Education Center
(3 education credits).
Many educators dream of finding an old camp, lodge, or farm to outfit as
an environmental education facility. Birch Creek Arts and Ecology Center is all
three, located at Trillium Farm, a remote historic homestead and former trout
hatchery and fishing lodge. In this course we learn how to plan and perform the physical tasks and
academic organization necessary to create a center for environmental education
as an aid for our transition to a postmodern world.
This
experiential education course provides participants with a unique opportunity to
work on creating a wilderness environmental education center. Participants will
focus on three major components:
·
the physical center of the
Ecostery building and surroundings,
·
the educational and
experiential opportunities,
·
the theory of education's
role in the transition to a postmodern world.
Many
of the educational opportunities involve natural history studies on the Ecostery
campus and surrounding wilderness. The theory of education's role in the
transition to a postmodern world weaves itself through the other four courses
included in the residential intensive.
Orion Society Forgotten Language Tour.
NOTE: MAJOR CHANGES IN
COURSE
SYLLABI AND ACADEMIC CREDIT PROCEDURES
We have been informed by The Heritage
Institute of Antioch University that, due to budget cuts, they will no longer be
able to process academic credit for course with fewer than 10 students.
Since our DEEP Ecostery program never exceeds 8 students, we haven found it
necessary to establish a different procedure for obtaining academic credit.
We will still be working with our long-time partners The Heritage Institute of
Antioch University to secure academic credit for our programs involving 10 or
more students. Please note: academic credit is an option for all DEEP
courses, and participants need not be enrolled at a college or university.
To obtain academic credit for the DEEP Ecostery courses, prospective students
should work with their academic advisor at their home college or university to
arrange academic credit through that school. Academic credit for the DEEP
Ecostery program can be considered in a similar manner as travel abroad
programs. Our course syllabi, as approved by Antioch University with their
course numbers indicated, should be down-loaded and printed to present to
academic advisors. We are available to assist with academic credit
verification by working directly with academic advisors and registrars at the
home schools of students. Vitae for our primary Ecostery faculty are
available here for down-load to present with the syllabi to academic advisors.
Fees for our DEEP Ecostery program are now reduced, reflecting elimination of
academic credit fees through
The Heritage Institute of Antioch University.
In the
curriculum
section you will find descriptions for each of the five courses that comprise
the Ecostery Intensive. Course syllabi contain detailed academic information;
please read them thoroughly. Some changes may occur in syllabi details during
our periodic reviews of the academic program. These syllabi are especially
useful for college students to show their academic advisors for applicability to
their programs. Certification of credit requires approval of your home campus
admission/advisor office. If you desire academic credit, then please
arrange for credit with your home school approval before the Ecostery session.
While no longer providing academic credit due to small class size (4-8 students), the DEEP Ecostery courses are valid,
approved courses through Antioch University. As a member of the North
Central Association of Schools and Colleges, Antioch University credits are
accepted by accredited colleges and universities. These credits are
quarter units (1.5 quarter units = 1 semester unit). For educators, Washington
State "clock hours" are available, and are also accepted by Oregon for teaching
certificate maintenance and salary advancement needs. Check with us
concerning clock hour credit for other states.
Detailed information and
application
instructions are found in the Application section. You can read about the evolution of the D.E.E.P. Ecostery and Trillium Community in the Autumn 2000 issue of
Communities
Magazine. Have fun exploring the Ecostery photo
album, and reading
participants'
comments and praise.
We encourage prospective Ecostery students to consider assembling a group of
their friends and fellow students from their home school to take the Ecostery as
a group. Expect friendships to deepen through the nature of the Ecostery
experience on a wilderness campus.
Natural History field trip to the Siskiyou Crest to examine the rare botany.
Ecostery
Academic Standards
The D.E.E.P. Ecostery is a
challenging residential intensive! We encourage cooperation over competitiveness. Readings and course work are extensive and faculty expectations are high. Several hours of homework (reading, writing, journaling, research) are necessary
each week to keep up with the rapid pace of the intensive. Papers, projects,
research, and oral presentations are part of the evaluation process. Participants must be focused and highly motivated to compress the work of a
typical 10-week quarter term into 8 weeks. In addition, participants engage the
equal challenges of living and working together as a community in Place. Working
on community process, household chores, preparing and cleaning meals, and
successfully meshing different personalities ~ all comprise portions of an
intensive experiential curriculum, and are also a part of the evaluation
process.
ECOSSTERY INTENSIVE CHRONOLOGY: The Flow of Time
The two months will indeed be intensive! There is much to learn, much to
experience, and much to accomplish in a short time. Such an intensive could
only function as a residential program. During these eight weeks participants
will read several texts and outside selections, write and present 3 papers and 6
short reports, keep three journals, create a map, and take an exam. Graduate
level requirements include additional reading, research, and written work. In
addition to those academic accomplishments, participants will also become
acquainted with the surrounding ecosystems, a community of earth stewards, and
various homesteading and wilderness skills.
Living in a rustic setting at wilderness edge means that the weather and the
length of daylight will effect how we arrange our daily Ecostery activities.
Stormy weather will often find us involved with indoor projects and discussions,
while sunny mountain days will draw us outside for natural history explorations
and other outdoor activities. While most Ecostery activities take place at
Trillium Farm and adjacent wilderness, there may be an overnight excursion
deeper into the wilderness, and/or field trips to nearby points of interest.
Trail maintenance in the
proposed Dakubetede Wilderness.
Each week will consist of three academic days with resident or guest faculty,
two experiential service days with Trillium residents, and one day of individual or
group directed work. Participants will have one day "off " each week for hosting
visitors or taking possible trips to town for rest, relaxation, and research at
the Southern Oregon University Library. This is a residential intensive; during
the 6 weekly session days all participants are present, day and night. Visitors
on the day off must be arranged in advance through the community process. A
4-day mid-session break provides an opportunity for personal exploration,
whether a rafting trip, beach trip, visit a city, or just chill here at
Trillium.
Learning cordwood masonry building techniques.
One of the intentions of this program
is to help you learn to develop a Sense of Place in this magnificent setting. Town trips are infrequent and we encourage you to avail yourself of wild nature,
here in the Dakubetede Wilderness on your days off. Sometimes Ecostery
participants experience a bit of culture shock within a few days as the level of
remoteness sinks in. Culture shock is a real experience! While it may be at
least a 2-hour round trip into Ashland for a cup of chai, a microbrew, a pizza;
the amenities of the wild, unavailable in town, are strong and nourishing here
at the Dakubetede Wilderness Campus. Your energy will flow best here in the
wilderness if you release any habits you may have used to cope with town in the
past. For example, one Ecosterian stopped smoking tobacco for her stay here;
others have embraced a vegetarian diet for the first time. Our experience has
showed us that the Ecostery is most beneficial for all involved if alcohol and
drugs are not present, for that reason we ask that all Ecosterians refrain from
using these substances while on the Land.
Personal contemplation opportunity at the river.
Ecostery participants describe their
experience here as "transformational". Forming a close-knit learning
community in the wilds provides endless opportunities for personal growth. Previous Ecosterians recommend that you read Conscious Loving by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks
before you arrive; they found it most helpful for living together. The communication model as described by the Hendricks unifies
us all for deeper exploration in honest community process. Being open to the
opportunities is the first step in embracing positive experiential education. We
look forward to your application to join us here for the D.E.E.P. Ecostery.
Litter patrol service project along the one-lane unpaved Little Applegate
River Road.
The Host Community
Trillium
Farm hosts
the D.E.E.P. Ecostery at its historic 82-acre homestead on the Little Applegate
River, deep in the eastern Siskiyou Mountains. An intentional community for
nearly 40
years, Trillium serves as the home of Birch Creek Arts & Ecology Center, a remote cultural and educational center, hosting
several workshops, conferences, retreats, and gatherings each year in a
near-wilderness setting. For five years Trillium operated a Montessori school
for ages 3-16. The main school building is a vintage (circa 1970) two-story
octagon. Trillium and Birch Creek programs focus on sustainable living
skills, community,
environmental education, fine and healing arts, organic gardening, permaculture,
alternative building, appropriate technology, and environmental activism.
This rustic and serene space is the home of the D.E.E.P. Ecostery. Participants will be living in the octagon and working to further create an
environmental education center in the building. Creating this center,
interacting with members of the Trillium Farm's community of earth
stewards, working with the local conservation organization, and working on community projects such as organic gardening,
permaculture, alternative building, and appropriate technology are experiential
components of the D.E.E.P. Ecostery academic program.
Trillium is located where Birch Creek
flows through several ponds in a beautiful narrow canyon and over a waterfall
into the Little Applegate River. The old homestead is nearly surrounded by the
proposed Dakubetede Wilderness and 21,200-acre Dakubetede Primitive Backcountry
Area. Tucked away in the rain shadow of the Siskiyou's
highest peaks, this area is known for its exceptionally rich biodiversity and
arid microclimate. Complex mosaics of botanical communities offer unique
opportunities to study diverse terrestrial, aquatic and riparian ecosystems.
The Spring session (April and May)
will feature the greening of the mountains as new vegetation grows, wildflowers
bloom, and streams resume flow in the canyons. The long cold nights grow shorter
and warmer as winter fades. The first really hot days of the season, previews of
summer, intervene between storms which can bring snow squalls even in May.
Spring stroll down the canyon to the Ecostery Library.
Biodiversity on display in the proposed
Dakubetede Wilderness.
The Autumn session (October and
November) will feature the warm days of Indian summer with chilly nights
introducing the season's first frosts. Deciduous trees and shrubs provide
stunning displays of color as the temperatures drop and the days shorten. November will see the first winter storms roll in, sometimes with substantial
snows. Wildlife migrate down from the high country. Leaves fall and open the
forest to the low-angled light of winter.
Singing presentation on the autumn color palette.
Prior to Arrival at Ecostery
1. Participants obtain all text books and read the following text prior to
arrival: Wallace, David Rains. The Klamath Knot. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books,
1983. Complete text listing will be included in the acceptance packet.
2. Participants will obtain all necessary equipment and supplies and personal
gear. Complete list will be included in the acceptance packet.
Arrival at Ecostery; Parking, Facilities
Arriving participants will delve
immediately into natural history with a 3-5 mile wilderness hike ending at the
Ecostery. After an orientation at the octagon, participants will retrieve their
belongings and settle in for two months of intensive work.
Parking is limited. Participants are urged to arrange car-pooling for town
trips. Trillium Farm is very remote ~ four miles up a narrow dirt canyon road. The closest store is 13 miles (25 minutes) away
in Ruch;
the closest town (gasoline, post office, bank) is 22 miles (40 minutes) away in
Jacksonville, the airport is 35 miles (50 minutes) in Medford; Southern Oregon University in Ashland is 40 miles (one hour) away.
Ashland and Medford have natural food co-ops.
The Ecostery
facilities are quite rustic. The octagon has only minimal solar powered 12-volt electricity. There is an outdoor hot shower and an outhouse. Participants will purchase most
of their food together in bulk, sharing meals and kitchen duties. Trillium
Farm policy prohibits meat preparation, consumption, or storage
in community facilities. Participants needing meat in their diet should bring
jerky with their private belongings. Heat is passive solar on warmer sunny days,
and with firewood during colder, cloudy times. A land line phone with free
long distance (USA only) and wi-fi are available in a separate building with space for participants to set up their own
computers (laptops are highly recommended). We are located far beyond cell phone
or television reception.
Firewood stacked in and under historic Trillium School.
Ecostery
Daily Schedule
The following basic daily schedule
will be modified often, especially during field trips, natural history hikes,
and overnight camp trips.
- Dawn to 10 AM:
Participants free time for breakfast, reading, writing, yoga, morning walks, and
natural history explorations.
- 10 am to 3-4 PM: "Contact
hours" with instructor: natural history field work, discussions of texts
and readings, work on Ecostery octagon and campus, work with resident stewards
on host community projects.
- Late-afternoon to bedtime:
Except for program sessions on 3 evenings, participants have free time blocks for
dinner, reading, writing, discussions, evening walks, visiting.
