The Ecology Center believes in a culture that gives more than it takes.
Our non-profit organization models creative solutions for thriving on planet earth. We believe everyone should have access to the tools, knowledge, and skills that promote healthy communities in the 21st century. We design spaces that inspire interaction with our ecosystem and transform our relationship with each other.
We highlight cutting-edge environmental perspectives through our four core initiatives.
Creating gardens, resources, and community to make vibrant spaces out of vacant places.
Empowering students, their families, and their communities to become advocates for water conservation.
Gathering chefs, farmers, and community together to eat with intention.
Creating pathways for more conscious consumption by building a vibrant local economy.
The Ecology Center’s headquarters is located in the historic Congdon Farmhouse in San Juan Capistrano, CA.
From an empty dirt lot, we have created an ecological oasis. Our home is a model for how every home can be reimagined and every space revived.
Having witnessed more than 130 years of social, agricultural, and environmental change, the Congdon House is the perfect venue for an exploration of the links between past, present, and future. At the same time, as one of the oldest standing embodiments of the past, it serves to remind us that we must act today to rejuvenate the environment for the generations to follow.
Executive Director
With his background in permaculture and agroecology, and, having worked extensively in California and Hawaii and internationally in Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico, Ghana and Nigeria, Evan Marks knows that people have the ability to directly impact the environment through individual change.
Program & Volunteer Coordinator
Events Manager
Director of Operations
Farm Manager
Road Trip Programs Manager
Bookkeeper
Marketing Manager
Grants Manager
Director of Replication
Road Trip Crew
Graphic Designer
Director of Brand and Communications
Farm Stand Manager
Facilites Manager
CSA Coordinator
Architecture
Garden Support
Tools for Change
Design
Handmade: A Maker's Market
Garden Design
Grants
Art Director
Green Feast Chair
Board Member
Sustainable Agriculture Advocate
Board Member
Angel Investor and Philanthropist
GM, Chef, Chez Panisse
Board Chair
CEO, Rumiano
Board Member
Operations, Chez Panisse
Brand & Business Strategist
Sustainability Consultant
Principal, Community Development Partners
