What a difference a year makes

VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY

Just more than a year ago, the city closed the Shipley Nature Center

because of lack of funds. A fledgling group called the Friends of

Shipley Nature Center had formed only a few months earlier to inform

the public about the plight of the nature center. But when the city

locked the gates, the group’s members bravely shouldered the task of

renovating and reopening the center. They probably had no idea what a

huge task they were facing.

Shipley Nature Center was no longer a healthy, functional

ecosystem. The entire 18 acres were overgrown with highly invasive

weeds. Paths were mere tunnels through dense stands of giant reed.

Castor bean, poison hemlock, passionvine, Brazilian pepper, tamarisk

and many other weeds presented a management headache. An estimated

80% of the plants at the center were weeds. Paying for removal of

diseased and dead trees was another challenge the group faced.

Transforming this ecological nightmare back into a healthy

environment would take an enormous amount of love, labor and money.

The master plan called for staged implementation over five years.

It wasn’t going to be easy, but a stellar list of local notables had

lined up to support the nature center. There isn’t room to list

everyone by name, but the backers include prominent members of the

Amigos de Bolsa Chica, Bolsa Chica Conservancy, Bolsa Chica Land

Trust, Huntington Wetlands Conservancy, Sea and Sage Audubon, former

mayors, planning commissioners, an assemblyman, leaders in the

Chamber of Commerce and a biologist with State Parks and Recreation.

In the past year, the group has received grants and donations from

the Boeing Employees Community Fund, the Metropolitan Water District,

the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Program, Santa Ana River

Conservation Trust Fund, Orange County Conservation Corps, Rainbow

Disposal, WalMart, Pacific City, CIM, California Native Plant Society

and others. Membership has grown from a mere handful of people a year

ago to nearly a thousand supporters. Money and workers make

restoration happen.

A mere year after the Friends of Shipley Nature Center took over

management of the center, the group has achieved an impressive record

of accomplishment. With the help of the Orange County Conservation

Corps, church groups, scout groups and high school key clubs, members

have removed and recycled an estimated 150 tons of weeds, debris and

nonnative trees. They have planted nearly 600 native trees, which is

about 90% of those called for by the master plan. They have planted

about two acres in coastal sage scrub, finished planting about half

the perimeter of the center with shrubs, and renovated the trail

system. The meadow is ready for installation of two vernal pools and

planting with native grasses and wildflowers, and the area for the

demonstration gardens is cleared.

They have completed construction of a multi-use area, back patio

and story circle for gatherings, and they have begun construction of

a conservation education yard. The weeds on nearly six acres are

under control, and several invasives such as fennel and milk thistle

have been extirpated from the entire center. In fact, at the end of

their first year of management, the group has completed about 20% of

the restoration called for by the five-year plan.

The Friends of Shipley Nature Center members are active in

environmental education as well as restoration. They have completed

training of the first docent class, reopened the center to the public

on the third Sunday of every month and resumed the popular guided

nature walks for school groups. A major overhaul of the interpretive

building and its exhibits is underway.

The key to continuing this impressive track record will be ongoing

employment of the young men and women of the Orange County

Conservation Corps. We don’t often ask you readers to do much, other

than to radically change your lifestyles, be more environmentally

conscious, have fewer children, turn down your thermostats in winter

and drive more fuel-efficient cars. That’s just the easy stuff. Now

we’re going to ask something more difficult.

We’d like you to call City Council members and ask them to make

funding for Shipley Nature Center a priority. Or send them a copy of

this column. We know that there isn’t any extra money in the general

fund, but the council could direct staff to allocate funds for hiring

the Orange County Conservation Corps in a large grant for Central

Park that they’re receiving from the Southern California Wetlands

Recovery Program. In fact, program officials suggested to the Friends

of Shipley Nature Center that the city could do this. But it may not

happen unless people ask. Your support for the nature center would

make a huge difference.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at vicleipzig@aol.com.