Summer Solstice Gathering
Jun
20
to Jun 21

Summer Solstice Gathering

  • Summer Field Waldorf School Farm (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS


Gifts of the Plants, Gifts of the Bees 

How can we give back?

June 20-21, 2026

at Summerfield Waldorf School, Santa Rosa CA


Friday

Camping arrival 5pm onward. 

Saturday

7:30 Catered Breakfast 

8:30 Welcome, Introductions & Eurythmy with Lilith Dupuis

9:30 BioDynamics? A Farmer’s Perspective  with host Birgit and Erik Landowne

10:00 Plant Observation: Guided observation with artistic study focused on the Equisetum and Valerian plants (Medicinal plants used in BioDynamics) with Emma Wade & Birgit Landowne

10:45 Break

11:00 Equisetum & Valerian Practices in BioDynamics: Explore different techniques on how to use these two plants. Identify their contrasting qualities and different potential uses with Sebastien Dupuis & Harald Hoven.

11:45 The Plant’s Giving Gesture & The Human-Plant Relationship  A study and conversation looking at  the Biodynamic Agriculture Lectures by Rudolf Steiner with Franz Eilers 

12:30  Potluck Lunch - Bring a dish to share! 

2:00 Open Workshops 

  • Making the BD Yarrow Compost Prep with Lilith Dupuis

  • Making the BD Chamomile Compost Prep with Sebastien Dupuis

  • Making the BD Nettle Compost Prep with Franz Eilers

  • School Farm Tour or Farm Animal time with Birgit Landowne

4:00 Taking Honey Bees out of the Box with Michael Thiele of Apis Arborea

5:00 Break

5:15 Celebrating 40 Years of BDANC – with  Harald Hoven, Luke Frey & others. 

5:45 Catered Wood Fired Pizza Dinner & Dance Party

Sunday

8:00 Catered Breakfast 

9:00 Work on the Farm: Giving Back

  • Valerian Harvest, Juicing & Compost Prepping with Birgit Landowne

  • Equisetum disease resilience application on fruit trees and other plants with Sebastien Dupuis

11:00 Closing Circle 

  • Gifts of the Plants, Gifts of the Bees, How can we give back? What have we learned?

12-12:30 Clean up



BYO Camping Available onsite Friday and Saturday Nights

Sign up for catered meals by Tuesday June 16th

Register
MEALS



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Spring Gathering 2026
Apr
25
to Apr 26

Spring Gathering 2026

Spring BDANC Gathering 

April 25,26, 2026

Perceiving Qualities

Building Soil Health and the Use of Biodynamic Compost Preparations

  • Explore qualitative methods to understand soils asking how we can sense and perceive soil health. 

  • Observe soils from around Northern California. Participants are invited to bring 1-2 cups of Compost and/or Soil from their home or work in a jar to contribute. 

  • Experience Biodynamic techniques for harmonizing soil life with compost preps through hands-on activities. 

  • Celebrate Earth Month and initiate BDANC’s Healing Soils Community Project! 

Schedule:

Saturday

7:30 Catered Breakfast 

8:30 Welcome & Introductions 

8:45 What draws you to Biodynamic Agriculture? –  Through the eyes of a farmer’s biography  with Emma Wade of Heartwood Farms   

9:00  Perceiving Soil Life: Explore qualitative methods to understand soils. How do we sense what, who and how is contributing to soil health? From clear type contrasts to subtler nuance between samples. With Birgit Landowne, Franz Eilers & Sebastien Dupuis

10:15 Break & move to Hwy 26 Compost Yard 

10:40 Practicing  Biodynamics at the Compost Yard

  • Together dig up Heartwood’s Biodynamic Preparations/Observation 

  • Break-out into working Groups (choose one)

  • Methods of how and when to prep Compost Piles with Harald Hoven & Franz Eilers

  • Stirring the BD Valerian prep for compost application with  Birgit Landowne

  • Start to finish: making Biodynamic Barrel Compost with Sebastien Dupuis 

12:30  Potluck Lunch - Bring a dish to share! 

2:00 Open Hour Workshops (choose one)

  • 101 Using Biodynamic Planting Calendars with Birgit Landowne

  • Farm Management with Patricio Ballesty

  • The Vision of Heartwood Farms, Farm Tour with Franz Eilers & Emma Wade

  • Eurythmy with Lilith Dupuis

3:00 Revisiting our soils from the morning with Emma Wade & Lilith Dupuis

4:00 Introducing  Healing Soils Community Project - finding a common time to spray Biodynamic preps as a community event. 

5:00 Barrel Compost stirring and spray  

6:00 Catered Dinner 

7:30 Outdoor Fire and Woodfired Sauna


 Sunday

8:00 Catered Breakfast 

9:00 Making BD Prep 501-Horn Silica with Harald Hoven

11:15 Closing Circle 

12-12:30 Clean up: Volunteers needed

BYO gear Camping or Sleeping floor space available Friday and Saturday Nights

Sign up for catered meals by Tuesday April 21st!

REgister
MeaLS






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Winter Gathering at Ridgewood Ranch in Willits
Jan
10
to Jan 11

Winter Gathering at Ridgewood Ranch in Willits

You are warmly invited to our annual Winter Gathering where we’ll connect with community and engage in research aimed to support the coming 2026 growing season and the future of Biodynamic agriculture in Northern California. We are delighted to return to Ridgewood Ranch, home of Golden Rule Community Gardens.

  • When: Saturday January 10 and Sunday January 11, 2026

  • Where:  Ridgewood Ranch, 16200 N Hwy 101, Willits, CA 95490

See below the schedule for written directions.

Event Registration
Purchase Meals by Jan. 6

Winter BDANC Gathering

Cultivating Ground for a New Agriculture / January 10 &11, 2026

Schedule Saturday

7:30 Breakfast 

8:30 Welcome & Introductions 

Why Biodynamic Agriculture? – Through the eyes of a farmer’s biography

9:15 Listening to the Whole: Tone Eurythmy Activity

10:15 Break

10:30 Ground for a New Agriculture: Presentation, Inner Work 

12:00 Farm Tour of Golden Rule Gardens  

1:00  Potluck 

2:30 The Farmer and The Farm Organism: Conversation, Q&A

4:00 Coffee & Tea Break

4:30  Word Seed, Farming the Logos: Artistic Speech Activity

6:00 Dinner

7:30 Eurythmy Performance 

Schedule Sunday

8:00 Breakfast

9-10:30 Lending a hand to the Farm

10:30-11:15 Biodynamics in Biography -Conversation

11:15-12:30 Closing Circle

We have a limited number of Stella Natura Planting Calendars still available for purchase and pick up at the meeting!

Purchase A Planting Calendar

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:

Heading north on Highway 101, pass through Willits and Calpella. North of Calpella, West Road crosses Hwy 101. Your turn will be a little more than 7 miles after West Road. As the highway climbs steeply, watch for  a left turn sign, (and  a business sign set back from the road and up hill on the left that advertises an RV park.) Get into the left lane immediately, and then the left turning lane to turn into a winding road, heading downhill. Cross your first cattle guard. At the first fork turn right. Cross another cattle guard and up a little hill to the  main building of Ridgewood Ranch. Park in the large parking lot in front of the building. Here is a Maps Pin Drop for exact building and parking lot: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1metEJBX6VtXSHRc6?g_st=ipc

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Summer Meeting at Summerfield Waldorf School
Jun
21
to Jun 22

Summer Meeting at Summerfield Waldorf School

  • Summerfield Waldorf School & Farm (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Let us gather and return again to Summerfield School and Farm for the BDANC Summer Solstice Meeting! As the Sun reaches its  zenith in the sky, we will come together to share and celebrate another year of Biodynamic Agriculture. Come join us as we look closely at the Valerian plant through Geothean observation with Dr. Daciana Iancu, and in pastel drawing with Denise Sacks.  

Through social exercises with Luke Frey, and Eurythmy with Lilith and Sebastien Dupuis, we will explore the qualities of warmth, both in the plant world and with each other. Together we will be making the valerian and stinging nettle preparations. Farmers and interns will lead us as we talk together about our deepest farming questions. This gathering is appropriate for parents, teachers, farmers, doctors, interns and anyone interested in exploration of the healing properties of Biodynamic Agriculture.

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Spring Gathering 2025 “Light Into Darkness” at Heartwood Farms
Apr
26
to Apr 27

Spring Gathering 2025 “Light Into Darkness” at Heartwood Farms

  • Biodynamic Association of Northern California (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Join us for this year's Spring 2025 BDANC gathering exploring Light: What is light? What is the relationship of light to darkness? How do we work with the phenomena of light in our agricultural practice?  How does light transform into fruit? Ehrenfreid Pfeiffer, bearer of Biodynamics to North America, recounts that the word “biodynamic”  was chosen by the initial group of experimenting farmers 100 years ago as meaning, “a working with the energies which maintain life.”  He goes on to point out that the biological aspect began to reveal itself in science in the first half of the 20th century, yet,  “Despite recognition of the importance of the biological conditions of ecological relationships…all of this still gives no answer to the question of energy, to its source…the dynamic side still waits understanding to which Rudolph Steiner pointed the way.”

This weekend offers sense perception and experience based inquiry into the role of light in human capacities and Biodynamic farming practices. Particular attention will be brought to the use of the Horn Silica and Horn Manure preparations, their polarities and how they complement one another. Practical work will include making Horn Silica and applying it to the land. Horn Manure and other winter buried preparations will be dug up and observed. The weekend's work together will be participatory and accessible to all levels of experience. 

We are excited to return for the second year to Heartwood Farms' cherry and walnut orchards for the Spring Meeting 2025. Program Lead by Franz Eilers, Emma Wade, Sebastian Dupuis, Lilith Dupuis, and Harald Hoven.

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