Shipley Nature Center
in Huntington Beach, California has
undergone restoration. It was once a place
to enter into the wilds from the urban,
maddening sprawl adjacent to the busy Golden
West Street a few feet east. Shipley Nature
Center was not authentic, its restoration
crew said. Non-native plants, flora and
fauna had crept into this gated woods with
trails and a small pond that serves up
thousands of school tours.
Budget
woes for the City of Huntington Beach put
the parcel of land in Central Park into
hiatus for several years and a full time
staff person (Dave Winkler) was re-assigned
to another city job to save money. In
came the Friends of Shipley Nature Center.
This group of volunteers took charge of
raising money, seeking funding and putting
the reserve property into ship shape to
fulfill educations directives and thus
qualify for additional funding and tour
opportunities under educational guidelines.
Today
the Shipley Nature Center looks completely
different than it did even five years ago.
Open most every day, take a stroll through
the trails, visit the interpretive center
with touch exhibits for kids, and enjoy
seeing the fruits of labor that have made
this venue a new product for the 21st
century. While it's wild and scary look and
feel have been replaced with clean, marked
trails and signs, instead of a kids'
paradise for romp and play, you'll find an
educational garden so needed in the 21st
century as countless species disappear from
the planet each day due to human activities.
Eerily pointing toward the signage outside
the gate with the plaque and engraved photo
of Donald Shipley for which this refuge was
named, stop to read the visionary's words
before you leave.
"We
sleepwalk through our environment.
Most of us are totally unaware of how little
of our natural environment now remains in
coastal Southern California. I submit that
man may need some natural areas in his human
environment much more than does our depleted
wildlife." - Donald DeVries Shipley, 1913 -
1989
Shipley Nature Center, Huntington Central
Park, Huntington Beach, California
Call Carol Williams at (714) 842-4772
Postal: PO Box 1052, Huntington Beach, CA 92647
Getting there: Park on Golden West Street
Parking Lot between Slater and Talbert
Streets. Entry is only available from one
west site of the road. Hours fluctuate
seasonally. Call for information or visit
web site, www. fsnc.org
