Nature Center to reopen part-time
Jenny Marder
Volunteers are working long hours to restore the Shipley Nature
Center to a vestige of its former natural splendor by September when
it will open part time offering tours for children and the community.
When the city yanked the center’s funding five months ago, gave
away all the animals and padlocked the gate, many looked to the
volunteers to keep the center running.
While that has not been possible, the Friends of the Shipley
Nature Center, an organization committed to restoring the center, has
been working nonstop to return the closed nature park to a thriving
sanctuary and to bring back tours, educational programs and nature
walks for children. The volunteer group has jumped from 40 members to
700 in four months, said Stephanie Pacheco, president of the Friends
of the Shipley Nature Center.
On the first Saturday of every month, anywhere from 12 to 60
volunteers show up to breathe life into the old center by working to
restore the land to its natural state.
“I’ve been involved with a lot of projects in this town and this
has been one of the greatest involvements that I’ve seen,” said
former Mayor and Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff. “We have this
wonderful opportunity, we have this wonderful resource and if we
don’t get in there, we might lose it.”
On April 13, the gates will reopen for a fund-raising bird walk
led by bird expert Lena Hayashi, followed by a picnic on May 17 with
restoration tours and a nature walk for children.
“[Guides] will talk to the children about subjects appropriate to
their grade level and age level,” Pacheco said. “They will also talk
about restoration, why it looks how it looks and why we’re doing what
we’re doing. And since it’s in an urban area, it gives us an
opportunity to talk about urban educational issues.”
In addition to restoration, the goal of the nonprofit group is to
continue expanding educational programs for both children and the
community.
“The number one goal is restoration,” Dettloff said. “Coupled with
that, is educating the public on what a great resource they have,
what they can do about saving it and their role in accomplishing
that.”
The Shipley Nature Center is an 18-acre natural landscape with
4,000 feet of trails that weave through oak woodlands, Torrey pine
trees, meadows and ponds. A freshwater wetland is located on the
premises.
The center is a haven for insects, reptiles and birds, and is home
to three endangered bird species. The grounds also feature an
interpretive building with exhibits on local wildlife and ecology.
Faced with budget woes, the City Council closed the center, which
cost $116, 955 a year to run in October of 2002, despite a protests
from residents and environmentalists who considered the site one of
Surf City’s local treasures.
The center used to attract 40,000 visitors a year, many of them
children, who would take tours to learn about nature and visit the
center’s wildlife refuge which included foxes, raccoons, snakes and
lizards.
The massive restoration project underway at the center could take
as long as 10 years, Pacheco said. The project include restoring the
area with 50,000 California native plants and removing vegetation
that depletes groundwater, crowds out native plants and presents a
fire risk. A freshwater stream will be created to provide circulation
for Blackbird Pond and fresh water for the area’s wildlife. Trails
will be upgraded, an irrigation system installed and the building
will get a much needed face-lift, Pacheco said.
“They’re definitely needed improvements,” Pacheco said.
These improvements may be necessary, but they’re not cheap.
Restoration will cost $680,000, and funds are hard to come by
Pacheco said. The Center has applied for five grants that include the
Metropolitan Water District, the Southern California Wetlands
Recovery Project, the Boeing Employees Community Fund and the city.
In December, Shipley Nature Center gained nonprofit status, which
allows it to receive tax-exempt donations and apply for grants.
And opening the center, though it is the ultimate goal, is still a
pipe dream, she said.
“It may be years and years before it opens,” Pacheco said, adding
that there is no funding yet for employing someone full-time, a
requirement for reopening the center. But Pacheco said she is
confident that the center would one day be back in full swing.
“People like ‘the Friends’ will make sure we establish a real
program out there,” Dettloff said. “I see the same success there that
we’re seeing in the Bolsa Chica.”
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