We visited another, much larger nature preserve today. And they, too, have an incredible interpretive center. This one is built into the cliffs overlooking the estuary. When we were on the top of the cliff we were actually standing on the roof of the nature center. The front of the center is all glass which gives it a great view of the estuary and beyond.
Much of the building was made from recycled materials. For example, all the tiles are different. They were collected from remodeled buildings, left overs from new building and old samples. The tile layers at the center pull them all together in a wonderfully attractive way. The guy showing us around took both of us into the men’s room so we could see the artistic job they did. It’s very impressive.
Part of the building is Teak wood and it, too, was recovered from other buildings that were remodeled or torn down. Even the rebar in the construction was made from recycled guns, knives and other weapons confiscated by the sheriff’s department and melted down.
In the photo of the building, the semicircle on the patio in the lower left quadrant is a compass. People get confused here because the ocean isn’t to the west, it’s to the south.
The vast marshy area in the other picture was going to be drained and filled with roads, condos and strip malls. You can see the cliffs above the marsh are built to the max. Thankfully it was saved, as it’s a critical stop-over habitat for a number of migrating bird species, some of them endangered. The center successfully reintroduced the cactus wren who’s numbers are declining due to destruction if it’s coastal sage scrub habitat.
Most species of migrating birds have left by this time, but the area is still filled with life. They have bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, opossums, a number of rodents, resident birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The food chain is fully intact here. This might be the last thing one would expect to find in Newport Beach and we applaud the citizens of Orange County for protecting this island of nature.
Art & Roxanne
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