long-term ecological reflections residency
The Long-Term Ecological Reflections program invites artists, writers, musicians, and scholars to the ancient forests of the Blue River watershed in Oregon, where scientists are engaged in long-term research. By encouraging people from many backgrounds to be in conversation with one another and with the diverse voices of the forests and streams, Long-Term Ecological Reflections is committed to creating a living, growing record of the changing forest and the changing relation of people to forests over time.
Rather than bringing a predetermined project to the Andrews (e.g., finishing a novel, revising a book chapter), we ask that residents bring an experimental, curious mindset, be fully immersed in the forest, and let a project develop in relationship with their experience and with the ecological research happening in this ever-changing place.
We believe that ideas grow from the landscape and that close attention to a particular place can ignite imagination and reveal broader insights that reach beyond that place and time. We also believe that inspiration and understanding can only be found with insights from many different perspectives, cultures, backgrounds, ways of knowing and disciplines.
A 200-Year Project
The Long-Term Ecological Reflections program began in 2003 and is intended to span two hundred years (2003 to 2203). That is approximately seven generations of human lives but only a quarter of the lifetime of the oldest red cedars in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest.
We are committed to taking the long view because we believe that truths reveal themselves over time and many cannot be fully grasped in short glimpses. To study a place for generations requires us to be patient in drawing conclusions, humble in the presence of deep time, and open to surprise.
In this way, long-term thinking is a radical act—a corrective to the corrosive impatience of modern life. In this time of ecological and moral crisis, the urgent need for new ways of thinking and being sits in tension with wisdom that evolves over generations.
Experimentation and Inquiry
Long-Term Ecological Reflections runs parallel to Long-Term Ecological Research. Both programs are committed to inquiry—to looking closely at a place as truths are revealed.
We encourage residents to connect with researchers at H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest before, during and/or after their stay. Our staff can help introduce residents to people studying a wide variety of topics including water, climate, biological diversity, and processes of disturbance and succession, to name a few.
To help residents get to know the forest, we invite them to visit select Reflection Plots, including the pebble beach of a small stream, an area recently burned in a wildfire and a mossy, light-graced “decomposition site” where fallen trees return to duff. Residents will be given a map and information prior to their visit.
The Forest Log
We invite residents to contribute to the Forest Log, an online collection of responses to the forest. Every contribution is unique.
Some residents send hand-written field notes and sketches immediately following their residency, while others send published poems, essays or book chapters years later. Some artists visit the forest many times and create long-term projects that result in art exhibitions, concerts, books or new collaborations.
All residents retain copyright, and we encourage residents to share their Long-Term Ecological Reflections work in public venues of all sorts (e.g., publications, exhibitions, performances). We do ask permission to republish and/or link to work connected with the residency.
A new Forest Log website is currently under development. We look forward to sharing it here and via the Spring Creek Project newsletter when it launches.
Terms & Expectations
These residencies are intended to provide concentrated time for work that promises to contribute to explorations of human relationships with the rest of the natural world. Residents are expected to engage with the forest, to create work inspired by their experience, and are encouraged to submit work connected with their residency to the permanent collection in the Forest Log.
By June of the year following award, residents are asked to provide a 1- to 2-page letter describing contributions of their experience in the forest.
Residents are asked to acknowledge the support of the Spring Creek Project and H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in any relevant publication, performance, or exhibition.
OSU faculty residents are invited to integrate their Reflections work into course materials or to create a connected student experience.
Program Dates: May 2026 – May 2027