Experience The Holistic Sustainability Semester

June 7-august 16, 2024

This 300+ hour triple certification is composed of 72+ Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) hours, 150+ Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) hours, and 75+ Intentional Community Immersion (ICI) hours. Optional evening and weekend gatherings include: meadow fires, stargazing, ecstatic dance, song circles, jam sessions, film showings, book clubs, improve theater, poetry slams and more!

The certifications will involve a combination of required classes and electives, offering students agency in their studies. Students will have the opportunity to focus on which certificates matter the most to them and schedule their time accordingly, without being required to attend any classes not applicable to their chosen course of study.

• While there will be scheduled activities on Saturdays throughout the first month of the semester (EDE) for those who are inspired to dive in fully, make up options will also be available for those who desire a more spacious and restorative experience. Weekends throughout July and August will remain unstructured. Participants may also choose to use this time for their personal studies/projects, make up sessions, or simply take the opportunity to more fully enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds us.

Community Living

Many participants end up citing community living as an unexpected highlight of their experience – they are so happy to engage with real people who don’t hide behind devices and fences.  This is so much more than just a course – it’s an fully embodied experience of living with intention!

During the 75+ hours of Community Immersion Experience, each day is a canvas allowing students to paint their hours with a variety of ways to connect with others. Students will have the opportunity to take part in spontaneous song and dance circles, meditation classes, heart shares, social, environmental, philosophically oriented book clubs, and many other chances to explore social sustainability! Students will have the opportunity to get their hands in the soil with alternating land and garden projects, and develop their culinary skills through participation in our community meal plan, preparing fresh, local, and organic meals from our gardens and neighboring farms. Additionally, the immersion experience offers a front row seat to our sociocratic* governance system, with opportunities to attend circle meetings such as:

• Community MeetUp

• Stewardship Council

• Residency Approval Panel

• Sustainability Circle

As part of the community, all people on site – students included – agree to abide by the Community Living Agreements, which are rules we have set for ourselves as a community to help us live together in a harmonious way.  Please read them to prepare for your journey with us!

*All adult residents share power within Lost Valley’s non-hierarchical sociocratic governance model, a system of checks and balances used by many intentional communities. Sociocracy seeks to create psychologically safe environments and productive organizations. Decision making is distinguished by the use of consent, rather than majority voting.

“Coming from a corporate job world, pursuing the HSS at Lost Valley helped me grow my knowledge, interests, and personal overall growth within a fulfilling environment.” – Taylor, HSS student

Student Experiences at Lost Valley

 “I lived at Lost Valley for 3 months while doing the Holistic Sustainability Semester and it was nothing short of amazing. I'd say I learned how to be a good human. In the US today I think only a small handful know how to holistically and sustainably fulfill the role of "good human". There are many great humans at Lost Valley, though. If you're open to being vulnerable, growing, healing, and experiencing a lot of love then LV is the place for you! Huge thanks to education director Nathaniel for facilitating such a wonderful summer for us.”

-Cash HSS 2022

“Experiencing the holistic sustainability semester at Lost Valley, was beautiful. EYES/ears/nose and heart opening. Mind expanding. It was like having little taste tests of some of the ways/practices, that can lead to a more fulfilling life.
I got to meet incredible shiny human beings, who each taught me so much.
So much love.
And the land at Lost Valley! I hold close to my heart. I think of the creek and the forest often.
Overall, the course was perfect, imperfections included.
Just what I needed. Great learning experience.”

-Nina HSS 2022

“[I] attended the HSS summer 2022 course out at Lost Valley. Well worth the time and expense, I'm still mulling over and digesting the many wonderful experiences I had out there. The group of students of which I was a part, the educational director and all the instructors, as well as all the residents at Lost Valley made me feel welcome. It was inspiring to see and take part in an intentional community, particularly the way it functions in decision making and communication among members. I hope to be able to make it back to Lost Valley at some point to live full time. For anyone interested in the educational courses, particularly the HSS, I recommend them highly.”

-Wes HSS 2022

“I was a student at Lost Valley for the Holistic Sustainability Semester in Summer 2020 and had an awesome experience. Since then I’ve visited several communities and I would say Lost Valley has figured out a lot of things (and of course still has many things to work on, as do all communities). That said, it’s a place where you can fully explore yourself and feel held by the beautiful land and the open and transparent people. I recommend it to anyone trying to explore and understand ways of living that are more in harmony.”

-Bryan HSS 2020

”I was a student at Lost Valley for the fall 2017 Holistic Sustainability Semester, and have nothing but positive things to say about the place! The program was incredibly organized, bringing in amazing teachers that led discussions and practice on so many engaging and important topics. The residents at Lost Valley were extremely warm and welcoming to all of the students, and truly enriched my experience there. The home cooked meals were nourishing and delicious, and it was a joy to see how much of the garden produce was incorporated into everyday eating. The property is so beautiful, encapsulating the Oregon landscape perfectly- oak savanna, evergreen forests, rainforest-esque stream valleys- offering a majestic place to wander and explore. I appreciate and respect the community's honesty about where they are on the path to sustainability, calling themselves an aspiring eco-village. For anyone curious about community living, or looking for a unique educational opportunity, this is the place for you!”

-Bethany HSS 2017

“The course was educational, inspiring, and relevant to our current climates of all sorts. It was so magical to connect with so many different people locally who all see a different facet of the same truth. The teachers were all super loving and very helpful, and I am deeply inspired.” 
-Matt, HSS 2020

“I took the Permaculture Design Course at Lost Valley Education Center in fall 2021. The courses that LV puts together are intentionally curated with mindfulness to immerse the students with a Permaculture Education and hold space for those transitioning away from colonization. I especially enjoyed that Lost Valley Education Center puts a great emphasis on TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge), indigenous peoples education, colonization and having First Nation elders teach in class. We were blessed with opening and closing ceremonies performed by a First Nation elder in the LV community, experiences that will be forever etched in my soul with gratitude.
The teachers at Lost Valley are highly knowledgeable, mindful and passionate when presenting, giving the time and attention to answering questions and productive group discussions. Each guest teacher shared invaluable information and were thoughtfully paired with a topic. Each session we spent time on the land applying what we learned or seeing first hand examples of different permaculture applications. Sundays, we had the opportunity to participate in a special recognition badge of land/garden work parties on the land at LV, where we applied the land-care skills we learned in class. Each week we shared a thoughtfully crafted lunch of organic food grown on the land at LV/ local farms, while we shared laughs and conversed about the teachings of the day.
Lost Valley Community culture gives students a feel of what everyday life is like living in an intentional living community. Residents are welcoming and kind at LV, I made many new friends and gained a sense of community during my time in the Permaculture Design Course.
The Permaculture Course at LV changed my life for the better, gave me a sense of direction in my Permaculture career, invaluable sustainable life skills to care for land+people. I can't wait to attend more classes! Love and blessings LV Community!”

-Kelly, 2021 PDC

“I received my Permaculture Design Certificate at Lost Valley. Aside from top-quality instruction with some superstar guest instructors, I learned more from having an in-person course where they live by permaculture ethics than I have from all my reading and YouTube. Easy 5/5 stars.”

-Glenn 2021 PDC

“Lost Valley Educational Center was a life-changing experience for me! I participated in the Holistic Sustainability Semester (3 months) and continued my stay after the program (3 months). If you have never lived in community, it can be hard - especially if you're the type of person who likes to "hold onto the TV remote." But I highly recommend visiting and seeing for yourself!”

-Taylor 2018 HSS

THE LAND

One step on the land at Lost Valley reveals a world many describe as serene, magical, and healing. An 87-acre nature sanctuary with ancient oak savanna meadow that coevolved with indigenous tending, create a world of its own in the Willamette Valley. Anyone traveling from the city can experience a much-longed-for connection with nature. Sounds of traffic are replaced with bird songs, and walks are filled with a diversity of edible berries and other wild plants. Deer roam the land comfortably and the meandering creek offers cooling on hot summer days. Every season boldly defines itself, with changing colors on trees and beautiful frost-covered grasses. Camas, once a staple food for local Indigenous peoples, proliferates in the meadow and red jasper stones are regularly uncovered in the gardens.

Those who live here connect with and steward the land in both a personal and communal way.  This can include stargazing in the meadow, singing around a campfire, hiking the trails, cultivating and wildcrafting herbs, meditating at sunrise, working on the agroforestry project, enjoying the cordwood sauna, and picking fall fruit.

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Nearby

In addition, there are many great destinations nearby.  We are 30 minutes from Eugene, considered by some to be the greenest city in the U.S.  An hour further is the coast, with sand dunes, cliffs, and vistas of the same caliber as the more famous California coast.  To the east are the Cascade Mountains with peaks up to 10,000 feet, extensive hiking, world-class mountain biking, lava fields, desert, and multiple hot springs.  We are lucky to be situated in such a spectacular location!