The Public Lands Collaborative Residency supports creative teams engaged in storytelling projects that have the potential to help re-imagine and shape the future of public lands in the United States.  

Rooted in the belief that storytelling is a powerful tool for stewardship, the residency offers space, time, and financial support for residents to develop a project about public lands that leads to public engagements such as readings, publications, workshops, or collaborative community projects.   

America’s public lands span more than 600 million acres of mountains, deserts, forests, and shorelines. From iconic National Parks to remnant prairies, from beloved recreation areas to critically important wildlife refuges, these lands are one of the largest shared experiments in collective stewardship on Earth.  

Public lands remind us that democracy extends beyond human communities to include the soils, waters, and species with whom we share this continent. These lands are living systems and civic institutions, shaped by the push and pull between conservation and exploitation, recreation and restoration, and legacies of dispossession and the promise of shared stewardship. In this ever-shifting context, every trail, forest, and canyon can become a site of negotiation and debate. The stakes are high.  

In a time of ecological and cultural transformation, these lands call us to rethink stewardship — not as ownership or control, but as an ongoing conversation across generations, disciplines, and cultures. Public lands invite questions about who belongs, who decides, and what values guide our shared future.  

During the Public Lands Collaborative Residency, we invite residents to explore questions like: How does caring for the land reflect how we care for one another? How does caring for and managing these lands reflect who we are and who we aspire to be? How do public lands shape our cultural identity and our sense of what is possible in a changing world? How can collaborative inquiry across disciplines help us imagine alternative futures for public lands? 

The residency takes place at a cabin on a 70-acre nature reserve that reflects a long-standing commitment to shared stewardship. Residents are invited to be in relationship with the land as both refuge and inquiry site while they reflect, ask questions, and shape their collaborative work.  

Eligibility

The Public Lands Collaborative Residency is open to interdisciplinary collaborative pairs. One person in the pair must be a creative writer. The other person in the pair may be: 

• An artist working in any discipline (e.g., visual arts, performing arts, sound, etc.) 
• Someone working in the humanities (e.g., historian, philosopher, theologian) 
• Someone working in ecology or a related science field 
• Another writer working in a different field or genre (e.g., a creative nonfiction writer working with a poet, a fiction writer working with a policy writer, etc.)

The pair must demonstrate a work trajectory that addresses environmental issues or involves place-based inquiry, either through previous solo or collaborative projects.

We encourage applications from people whose work is informed by lived experience, cultural knowledge, or long-term engagement with place, including Indigenous, rural, and historically underrepresented communities. Applicants must be based in the U.S. and at least 18 years old at the time of application. 

Residency Offerings 

Selected residents will receive: 

• Exclusive use of the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek for up to three weeks from August 2026 to September 2027. The residency can be consecutive (i.e., three full weeks) or broken into shorter stays (e.g., three residencies of one week each). While most of these stays should include overlapping residency time with both collaborators present (the space has two bedrooms), some days may be split between the pair. For instance, two weeks might be completed together, but each resident might complete a third week solo. 
• Please read about the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek to make sure the space works for your collaboration.  
• An honorarium of $3,000 per recipient, which may be used to cover travel costs to the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek during the residency period(s) and travel to Corvallis for the public event.  
• Professional documentation of outcomes and promotional support for related events.   
• A culminating opportunity for public presentation at PRAx at Oregon State University (e.g., participation in an exhibition, reading, performance).  
• Additional funding for shipping artwork to PRAx for an exhibition if needed.  

Terms & expectations 

Residents are expected to: 

• Develop a creative storytelling project related to public lands during the residency year. 
• Schedule and complete residency time at the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek within the award period. 
• Participate in a public program, exhibition, or presentation at PRAx between September 2028 and June 2029.  
• Acknowledge Spring Creek Project and PRAx in public presentations and publications related to the residency.  
• Provide their own transportation to the cabin, which is not accessible by public transportation. 

Program and Application Dates 

• Application deadline: May 15, 2026 
• Notification of acceptance: June 15, 2026  
• Residency period: August 2026 – October 2027. Residencies at the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek.  
• Public presentation at PRAx:  Between September 2028 and June 2029 (Exact dates TBD) 

How to Apply 

Applications are due May 15, 2026. Choose one collaborator to be the primary applicant and to submit one application for the collaborative pair.   

Review & Selection 

A diverse panel composed of artists, writers, scientists and arts professionals will evaluate applications based on selection criteria that include:  

• Quality and strength of work samples 
• Demonstrated trajectory of work engaging environmental issues or place-based inquiry 
• Likelihood that the residency will result in work that engages communities in thinking about public lands. 

Final selections will reflect a balance of disciplines, perspectives, and approaches. 

The Redcedar Fellowship is an advanced, two-year program for alumni of the Long-Term Ecological Reflections residency and fellowship programs who are interested in sustained, long-term inquiry at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. Grounded in the program’s 200- year vision, the fellowship supports creative and scholarly work that unfolds over extended periods of time and in ongoing relationship with place, ecological research, and evolving questions. Applicants will propose a continuation of an existing Andrews-based project or a new direction that requires repeated return visits to the forest. In either case, the proposed project invites deepening collaboration with researchers and patient attention to ecological change across seasons and years. In addition to developing new work, Redcedar Fellows commit to public engagement activities that share their evolving insights with diverse audiences, contributing to a living record of ecological reflection shaped by long-term presence, humility before deep time, and intergenerational exchange.

Eligibility

The Redcedar Fellowship is available to alumni of the Long-Term Ecological Reflections program. To be eligible, applicants must have completed all of the following:

• An awarded residency or fellowship at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest
• At least one previous Andrews-based project (e.g., a magazine article, a book chapter, poems, audio composition, visual art, etc.)
• At least one public engagement featuring their Andrews work (e.g., an artist talk, reading, workshop, exhibition, interview or public conversation)

Offerings

Redcedar Fellowships are two years. The fellowship includes a $4,000 honorarium and up to four weeks of lodging at the Andrews. Residency stays may be split into multiple blocks of time. Honorarium funds should cover travel to the Andrews for each visit.

Spring Creek Project will also:

• Cover the cost of lodging at the Andrews through direct payment to the Andrews.
• Facilitate opportunities to connect with scientists at the Andrews.
• Help coordinate and promote a presentation or event connected with their creative work or project near the end of the fellowship.

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 and to create new work inspired by their experience. Work may relate to a previous Reflections residency or take a new direction.
• Residents will participate in a public engagement activity (e.g., an event, workshop, reading, or exhibition) to share their work with a wider audience.
• During each year of the fellowship, by September 30, residents are asked to provide a 1- to 2-page letter describing project updates and their continuing engagement with 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.

Program and Application Dates

Applications are accepted once per year. Key dates for 2026 are as follows:

• Application deadline: May 15, 2026
• Notification of status: June 15, 2026
• Fellowship period: October 2026 – September 2028

Review & Selection  Applications will be reviewed by a committee of writers, artists, and scholars familiar with the Long-Term Ecological Reflections program. The selection committee will consider the following when reviewing proposals:

• Depth of engagement with place - Evidence of sustained, thoughtful relationship with the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest and an intention to return repeatedly over time.
• Commitment to long-term inquiry - Proposals that demonstrate patience, openness to uncertainty, an understanding that insight may emerge gradually across seasons or years, and the role of creative and scholarly work in shaping long- term understanding of forest ecosystems and human relationships with them.
• Integration with ecological research - Clear plans for meaningful engagement with Andrews researchers and long-term ecological studies, informed by curiosity rather than predetermined outcomes.
• Evolution of creative or scholarly practice - Quality and promise of a proposed project that either extends, deepens, or meaningfully reorients previous Andrews-based work in response to ongoing reflection and experience, or initiates a new direction of inquiry grounded in ongoing reflection, experience, and sustained engagement with the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest.
• Contribution to the living record - Commitment to public engagement activities that share work-in-process and evolving insights with diverse audiences, recognizing dissemination as part of a long-term conversation rather than a final product.

This program is sponsored by the Spring Creek Project in partnership with the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. If you have questions, contact Joy Jensen: joy.jensen@oregonstate.edu.

Nurse Log Fund is a program for alumni of the Long-Term Ecological Reflections Residency program who are seeking support to further develop projects initiated during their residency and/or to share that work with broader audiences.  

Named for fallen trees that sustain new growth, Nurse Log recognizes that ideas shaped by close attention to place and long-term ecological inquiry continue to evolve well beyond the residency period.  

Awards of up to $1,500 may be used to support project development or dissemination.  

Project development includes:  

• Materials for a creative project 
• Production of project-related media (e.g., a podcast, video, or audio recording)  
• Indexing, imaging permissions, or subventions for books under contract 
• Trainings to support research, scholarship, or teaching 
• Archival research 
• Supplemental conference registration or travel that is directly related to your project 

Project dissemination includes:  

• Public events (e.g., venue rental cost, travel, marketing) 
• Exhibitions (e.g., printing, framing, shipping) 
• Performances (e.g., supplemental funding to support production) 
• Travel to conferences and other professional venues to present your HJA work 

Please note that awards cannot be used for equipment such as computers, cameras or recording devices.  

Eligibility 

Nurse Log funding is available to alumni of the Long-Term Ecological Reflections program, including visiting artists, writers and scholars. Eligible applicants will have completed an awarded residency or fellowship at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest.  

If you’ve been awarded Nurse Log funding in the past, you may apply again, but reviewers will prioritize applicants who have not yet received this award. 

Offerings 

Recipients will receive a direct payment of up to $1,500 to support the development or dissemination of work directly related to the Long-Term Ecological Reflections program. You will have the opportunity to summarize costs for the funding request in your application.  

Terms & Expectations 

• If your work includes public engagement such as a reading, event or exhibition, please share the details and date(s) of that event so Spring Creek Project can help promote it. 
• Submit a one-page overview of how the funding supported the development or dissemination of your work within a month of completion.  
• If applicable, submit your work to be included in The Forest Log.

Program and Application Dates 

• May 15: Application deadline.
• June 15: All applicants notified of status.

This program will accept applications for funding once per academic term—in the fall, winter, and spring. If you have questions, contact Joy Jensen at joy.jensen@oregonstate.edu. 

Review & Selection 

Applications will be reviewed by the Spring Creek Project. Selection will prioritize projects that most closely align with the mission of Long-Term Ecological Reflections and that reflect the broadest potential reach and impact.