Upcoming Events
Introduction to Agroforestry
Introduction to Agroforestry with Abel Kloster
Learn about the primary agroforestry systems of the Pacific Northwest and the past, present, and future of perennial agriculture in our region. This workshop will begin with a group discussion and presentation and follow with a tour of agroforestry systems on CRL’s site. Register here.
CRL Restoration Forestry Internship
CRL’s Spring Restoration Forestry internship program will run from April 26-June 20, 2026. Applications are now open!
Composting Workshop
For beginning to experienced composters, this hands-on workshop will cover the basics of how composting works, which materials to use, and the different methods and types of compost bins available. Workshops are led by knowledgeable backyard composting information specialists. Workshop is presented by the OSU Extension Service and will be held at the Community Sharing Garden, 1440 Birch Ave. Please enter through the gate on O street.
Designing Multifunctional Hedgerows
Designing Multifunctional Hedgerows with Jude Hobbs
A multi-functional hedge is a beautiful and biologically diverse component of rural and urban landscapes. These multi-tiered assemblages of trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines, grasses, flowers and herbs can border fields, waterways or city lots. Participants will have an opportunity to design a hedgerow for their home or for a special project and plant a hedgerow at the Center for Rural Livelihoods. Register here.
Compost Giveaway
CRL is partnering with Waste Wise Lane County to giveaway free compost to the community. First come first served, bring trucks, buckets, or bags to transport it home. Community Sharing Educational Garden, 1440 Birch Ave. Line up on O street by the garden.
Forest Farming
Forest Farming with Dr. Eric Jones
Join Eric Jones of Oregon State University for a discussion on forest farming in the Northwest. We will explore the wide array of non-timber forest yields from Northwest forests and interact with some of the species being cared for in CRL’s understory including wapato, Oregon grape, camas, and nettle. The class will also take a deeper dive into a new project on campus, bigleaf maple syrup. Register here.
Silvopasture
Silvopasture with Drew Thomas and Abel Kloster
Join us for an introduction to Silvopasture and a walkabout with the resident sheep herd on the CRL campus. We will discuss strategies learned for grazing integrations into various regional contexts including Oregon white oak and young conifer stands as well as orchards. Topics covered will include establishing new silvopasture plantings and converting existing forest stands, herd management, forage management, and water supply systems. We will also clean up an area recently grazed and prepare a new paddock for the herd. Register here.
Ecoforestry
Ecoforestry with Abel Kloster and Matthew Hall
CRL’s ecoforestry project is turning 45 this year. Come take a walk in the woods and learn about this forest’s journey from plantation to biodiversity. The tour will cover the basics of ecological forest stewardship while exploring the mix of upland forest, oak woodlands, meadows, and riparian forest that make up the site. We will also discuss some of the initiatives afoot to make best use of the timber coming from the land both on the property and with our partner projects. Register here.
Learning Being (Conscious Advanced Mathematics) 2026
Meditation, math professors, and land stewardship
Composting Workshop
For beginning to experienced composters, this hands-on workshop will cover the basics of how composting works, which materials to use, and the different methods and types of compost bins available. Workshops are led by knowledgeable backyard composting information specialists. Workshop is presented by the OSU Extension Service and will be held at the Community Sharing Garden, 1440 Birch Ave. Please enter through the gate on O street.
Fall 2026 Eco-Municipalism Internship
During this 6-week program, interns will immerse themselves in a combination of hands-on land stewardship and an exploration of integrated community development. The land stewardship component will ground our thinking, build a collaborative atmosphere, and contribute towards ecological caretaking. The Integrative Community Development is a mix of bottom-up organizing, sustainable production, and equitable distribution. Instead of confronting the converging social and ecological crisis with fragmentation and siloed work, we look at examples of integrated approaches towards communal development that empower grassroots, rural communities. Interns will spend part of their time researching, discussing, and supporting such an approach to social change in the Cottage Grove area. Guided by CRL staff and community members, interns will contribute to a growing movement of cultivating power in-place, concluding with a multi-day gathering with local community members and organizations to strategize about participatory and economic democracy in the Cottage Grove area.
Applications for this internship will open in April 2026.
Farm Tour - Maple Syrup, Oak Silvopasture, Hedgerows, and Forest Gardens
Farm Tour - Maple Syrup, Oak Silvopasture, Hedgerows, and Forest Gardens
Come along for a tour of South Valley Agroforestry farms and an evening gathering at the Center for Rural Livelihoods. Come discover how these farms are putting agroforestry into practice to solve their farm goals and meet important regional conservation priorities. Register here.
Wild Clay Pottery Immersion
Immersive workshop with Whitesnake Arts
Shaping Earth and Fire immersion is a devotional week of wild embodiment, creative exploration through clay, and community ritual.
Our full five day retreat integrates the creative process with informational hands-on learning. Having a full week to ground together gives us time to dive into wild clay processing and all the things one needs to know to begin working with foraged clays at home, as well as practice various hand building techniques with space and time for the creative process to move through us. We will integrate indoor and outdoor studio time, group time, and solo time. No prior experience with ceramics is necessary to participate. If the clay calls you, please join and know that no skill is needed for shaping earth, it is inherdently human.
Week Overview
Sunday afternoon/evening: Arrival & settling in, dinner
Monday - Wednesday: Time on the land, foraging and processing clay and other materials, handbuilding and creative exploration, decorating and burnishing
Thursday: Clay lecture and hands-on experimentation: clay chemistry, geological narratives, blending theory, addatives, firing ranges, troubleshooting, and more! Glaze tests!
Friday: All day pit firing ceremony and evening pottery sealing
Saturday Morning: Closing & departure
Costs
Full Workshop Fee is $750, which includes five full days of facilitated learning, making, and ritual with finished fired pieces and all materials for making, as well as organic dinners every night and access to kitchen. Lodging is not included.
Center for Rural Livelihoods is a sustainable education and retreat center in Cottage Grove, Oregon 2 hrs 30 minutes south of Portland. There are a few lodging options onsite for the week. Car and tent camping is $90, a dorm room with a bunk bed is $150 for the week, which can be single occupany or split with other participants.
$150 deposit will hold your place, with a monthly payment option $200 until the retreat. Please be in touch to confirm monthly payment schedule.
Dinners Sunday through Friday night are provided, but breakfast and lunch will be on your own. There are full kitchen and fridge amenities on site. The registration form will confirm your lodging preference, as well as food restrictions and preferences. Camping or room payments will be sent directly to the event center.
Direct any questions to: whitesnakearts@gmail.com
Registration now open!
Craft Night @ CRL
In an attempt to add some more candles to the corridor to Spring, there will be a series or open studio craft nights at CRL this winter! Carving, knitting, mending, painting, weaving, molding — any and all artistic endeavors welcome.
Starting at 6:30pm.
Collective Resilience Song Circle
Collective Resilience Song Circle with Bex Lipps. Register here.
Craft Night @ CRL
In an attempt to add some more candles to the corridor to Spring, there will be a series or open studio craft nights at CRL this winter! Carving, knitting, mending, painting, weaving, molding — any and all artistic endeavors welcome.
Starting at 6:30pm.
Craft Night @ CRL
In an attempt to add some more candles to the corridor to Spring, there will be a series or open studio craft nights at CRL this winter! Carving, knitting, mending, painting, weaving, molding — any and all artistic endeavors welcome.
Starting at 6:30pm.
Foundations of Foundations with Chris Foraker
Join Chris Foraker of Cascadia Vernacular for an introduction to building foundations, at the Center for Rural Livelihoods
Shaping Earth & Fire Pottery Retreat
Our full five day retreat integrates the creative process with informational hands-on learning. Having a full week to ground together gives us time to dive into wild clay processing and all the things one needs to know to begin working with foraged clays at home, as well as practice various hand building techniques with space and time for the creative process to move through us. We will integrate indoor and outdoor studio time, group time, and solo time.
No prior experience with ceramics is necessary to participate. If the clay calls you, please join and know that no skill is needed for shaping earth, it is inherently human.
Unlike mid-range and high fire pottery, earthenware specifically refers to low fired ceramics made with wild clays. Pit, ground or open firings are practiced by many cultures around the world, each with rich pottery traditions, cuisines, and histories.
An open fire or small clay oven can only reach bisque temps, it is not hot enough to melt glazes, so techniques such as burnishing and sealing have been used instead of glazes to create finished functional, everyday use ceramics for the kitchen and home.
A key difference between earthenware and glazed pottery is in its durability. While we in the West have prioritized its look and durability, glazed pottery is essentially permanent, taking as much as 1 million years to decompose. Given our global consumption of resources, this can be seen as a significant reason to make more earthenware. At the end of earthenware’s life cycle, it can be broken up and composted, returned to the soil, helping to not only trap valuable nutrients but also retain water.
Week Overview
Sunday afternoon/evening: Arrival & settling in, dinner
Monday - Wednesday: Time on the land, foraging and processing clay and other materials, handbuilding and creative exploration, decorating and burnishing
Thursday: Clay lecture and hands-on experimentation: clay chemistry, geological narratives, blending theory, addatives, firing ranges, troubleshooting, and more! Glaze tests!
Friday: All day pit firing ceremony and evening pottery sealing
Saturday Morning: Closing & departure
Costs
Full Workshop Fee is $750, which includes five full days of facilitated learning, making, and ritual with finished fired pieces and all materials for making, as well as organic dinners every night and access to kitchen. Lodging is not included.
Center for Rural Livelihoods is a sustainable education and retreat center in Cottage Grove, Oregon 2 hours and 30 minutes south of Portland. There are a few lodging options onsite for the week. Car and tent camping is $90, a dorm room with a bunk bed is $150 for the week, which can be single occupany or split with other participants.
$150 deposit will hold your place, with a monthly payment option of $100 or $200. Please be in touch to confirm monthly payment schedule.
Dinners Sunday through Friday night are provided, but breakfast and lunch will be on your own. There are full kitchen and fridge amenities on site. The registration form will confirm your lodging preference, as well as food restrictions and preferences. Camping or room payments will be sent directly to the event center.
Compost Giveaway
Free Compost Giveaway on Saturday October 11, from 10-2pm at the Community Sharing Garden, 1440 Birch Ave in Cottage Grove. We will have 90 yards of compost delivered, come through and load up to get your beds ready for next season and fall and winter growing. Bring trucks, trailers, tarps, and buckets.
Presented by Center for Rural Livelihoods and Lane County Waste Wise!
Agroforestry Farm Tour
Optional Dinner at 7:00!
Join us for a tour of South Valley Agroforestry farms and an evening gathering at the Center for Rural Livelihoods. Come discover how these farms are putting agroforestry into practice to solve their farm goals and meet important regional conservation priorities.
Registration is closed for this event.
Introduction to Silvopasture
Join Abel Kloster of Center for Rural Livelihoods and Resilience Permaculture Design and Mark Batcheler of the National Agroforestry Center for our upcoming in-person Silvopasture workshop. We will discuss strategies for integrating animals into sustainable agroforestry systems and tour a series of grazing contexts on the CRL campus including orchards, oak woodlands, and riparian restoration sites.
This series is offered by donation and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please come prepared with comfortable clothes for light outdoor activities and your own lunch. Please sign up for the workshop series here.
Prescribed Fire Field Workshop at Native Oaks Ridge
Learn skills and build relationships to prepare for a prescribed burn by South Willamette Prescribed Burn Association and Center for Rural Livelihoods
Into Witchin Summer Camp
Summer Camp for girls & gender expansive youth, ages . An empowering week of nature connection, expressive arts, and natural magic! Tiered equity pricing available. Reach out to team@wildkindred.org | 571 643 8110
Basket Making Workshop
Special Two-Day Basket-Making Workshop, August 2-3 in Cottage Grove, $300-$150 sliding scale: Kara Huntermoon, Hosanna White, Ryder Coen co-teach as we help you complete the entire process of making a round willow basket. We heard your request to do this outside of pollen season!
Email karahuntermoon@gmail.com for details and to register.
Register now: This class is limited to 12 students, and it fills up fast!
Earth Arts Summer Camp
Join us for a fun filled week of nature immersion, hand crafts, and group games at the forests and gardens of Center for Rural Livelihoods. Earth pigment painting, wool felting, weaving, natural dyeing, swimming, hiking, and more!
More info at whitesnakearts.com
Regenerating Landscapes, Remaking Society Summer Residential Program
This program is suited for those who want to dig in – both physically and intellectually – to the intersection of social change and ecological restoration. It’s great for those who view community level organizing as fundamental to systemic change and are seeking to ground this organizing in hands-on skills to restore native habitat, especially with an eye towards producing a yield to support the material needs of the human community. Some may find this program to be rigorous and demanding making it ideal and rewarding for highly motivated folks seeking a fully immersive experience.
Learn More here: https://www.rurallivelihoods.org/residential-training-program
