NATURAL PERSPECTIVES:Seeing Shipley through new eyes

Vic led his Golden West College introductory biology class on a field trip to Shipley Nature Center last week. It was interesting to see Shipley through their eyes in the brief reports they wrote about their experiences. With their permission, we decided to share a few of their observations and remarks with you.

Patricia Ceballos wrote, “A group of people who thought Shipley was worth saving made the decision that volunteers could take on the large task of transforming Shipley back into a native center. The volunteers worked hard to transform Shipley, and today visitors can once again visit Shipley or volunteer to keep up with Shipley’s needs.”

Darn tootin’. It’s only thanks to the many dedicated volunteers who took on the task of restoration and management back in 2002 that we have such a wonderful nature center today.

Many of the students plan to come back to help out. Khanh Vuong wrote, “Going to Shipley Nature Center is probably one of the most memorable experiences of mine this summer. I think that one of these days, I will go to this center to volunteer to help take care of this wonderful place for our plants and animals.” That’s good, because the Friends of Shipley Nature Center need all the volunteers they can get.

Justine Tingle explored the interpretive building prior to the field trip. She enjoyed seeing the saber-toothed cat skull, ancient bison skull and Columbian mam- moth tooth that are on display. Fossil remains of these behemoths undoubtedly lie deep under our houses, awaiting discovery. You can learn more about our prehistoric local wildlife at the nature center, as well as our living wildlife and plants.

“I learned a lot about the wildly different varieties of plants that live in California,” Tingle wrote. “My favorite part by far was being able to see the wildlife living with plants. The wildlife was so cute! My least favorite part for sure was getting attacked by the giant bugs and spiders! It was so disgusting!”

Elizabeth Nguyen wrote, “I got a picture of what California’s native surroundings looked like centuries ago. It makes me have more respect for my natural surroundings and gives me motivation to visit remote places that are untouched by man.”

Grissel Brito expressed similar thoughts.

“It was almost as if we were actually away from the city,” Brito wrote, “but in reality we were in the center of a large populated city. It is a great place to become educated on the local plants that were once found throughout the California coastal region.”

Suzanna Potter really got the take-home message of water conservation that the Friends of Shipley Nature Center are trying to get across. She wrote, “I learned that it is best to grow plants that are native to Southern California. This is because they have adapted to the dry weather and the low rainfall, and can survive on less water.”

Potter is right. You’ll save a lot on your water bill if you give up a grassy lawn that requires 52 inches of water a year and grow plants that are adapted to Southern California’s 12- to 15-inch annual rainfall. Visit Shipley to see the beauty of native plants.

Another conservation message that the Friends try to get across is to reduce, reuse and recycle. To protect the roots of the coast live oak trees from trampling, the Friends built a boardwalk through the oak forest using recycled plastic for the lumber. Several students commented on the good use of recycled plastic for the boardwalk.

Students were fascinated by Vic’s discussion of cochineal scale insects that grow on prickly pear cactus. These white insects produce a red dye that was one of the earliest exports from this part of the New World. The dye was used to color the robes of Catholic cardinals.

On previous field trips, students had mistaken the duckweed on the pond for a closely clipped lawn. Some of them had attempted to walk on it with very wet results. This time Vic warned the students ahead of time, and no one got dunked.

Trini Tang wrote, “Duckweed looks very deceitful; it provides enough color to lure people into think(ing that) they are capable to walk over them. When in truth, they can lure you into the lake, where the depth is unknown.”

Shipley Nature Center brought a greater awareness of nature to many of the students, including Tang. He continued, “This place really opened my eyes. I never was big on the environment (before). It still really amazes me how these plants and trees can live together without killing one another. Plants are so peaceful; no wonder people turn to plants for comfort and strength.”

Rosa Ramirez-Arredondo summed up the thoughts of many of the students.

“Seeing just a little bit of the beauty that Mother Nature has provided for Planet Earth makes me want to conserve it,” she wrote. “We need to realize that we have the power to either preserve or destroy the nature around us. We do not have as much left as we did hundreds of years ago, so the time to act is now, before it’s too late and there is nothing left for future generations to enjoy.”

We couldn’t have said it better. I can see why Vic was so pleased with the students in this class.