The Call of Nature
We are so lucky to live in a place that values nature – we’ve got the beach, parks and event he wetlands here in Surf City. But if you’d like to take the kiddies to get even more up close and personal with nature, you should check out the Shipley Nature Center. Did I mention it is FREE to visit?
Armed with out handy-dandy Nature Scene Investigator notebooks, 2 earth-friendly bottles of water and a bag of goldfish, we explored the Shipley Nature Center and found many California native plants, lizards and bugs and our lucky sighting – a Red Tailed Hawk that kept flying over us. (Maybe he wanted goldfish crackers?) We found the wikiup which was our clue and completed one of the tasks in our NSI notebooks. In case you were wondering, “Nature Scene Investigators (NSI) is a clue-based outdoor program developed by Inside the Outdoors and Sage Hill School students. NSI is designed to have self-guided activities that make it fun and easy for families to enjoy Orange County’s outdoor spaces and showcase the diverse natural and cultural resources in the area.” (that’s straight out of the website) It’s so much fun and a great excuse to get out there and visit various Orange County locations.
The Shipley Nature Center is across from the Central Library. It’s an 18 acre natural area within Huntington Central Park and is open Monday- Saturday from 9am to 1pm. But guess what? This summer, they’ll be having “Cool Summer Nights 2010” – a program every Thursday evening during July and August. Check out the schedule on our Events page.
To see more photos from our visit, please surf on over here. More pix, please.
