Note: This post is part of an ongoing blog series called #costamesa365 where the author is striving to shop only* in her city of Costa Mesa, for a year.
Yesterday found me chaperoning a field trip to the ENC – or more precisely, the Environmental Nature Center.
I personally love chaperoning field trips because I find that, by tagging along with the students, I actually learn so much I didn’t know. When it comes to hands-on learning in the fields of conservation and the natural sciences, the ENC is really second-to-none.
Their facility is literally located right next-door to Newport Harbor High School – near Irvine Blvd. and 16th – just across the southern Costa Mesa border. From what I’ve seen, it consists of a bright and airy “interpretive center” – a sort of hands-on museum space the kids can explore, with live-animal aquariums lining one wall – a few classrooms, a little outdoor firepit gathering space, and a small, walking-trail loop with picnic tables peppered throughout.
The ENC is open to the public, even as they are running school and scout field trips throughout the day. They also have fun, community events throughout the year.
When my kids were toddlers, I spent a lot of time roaming the ENC. I found the walking trails to be the perfect, little, bite-sized amount of nature, fresh air and walking to tire my kids out before naptime.
Learning about adaptations alongside a live gopher snake at the Environmental Nature Center.
Our field trip was called “Natureology” and it was a basic overview of the various “-ologies” – zoology, geology, entomology, microbiology, entomology, botany – with engaging, hands-on activities within each field.
The ENC Naturalists were extremely patient with all the students’ questions (and there were many.) The staff seemed to take a real joy in the work that they do. The kids loved the field trip so much, they were already begging to return before we’d reached the parking lot to leave.
Our docent mentioned that starting this Fall 2019, the ENC is opening their very own Nature Preschool. Oh, how I wish it was around when my kids were little! I can only imagine how much fun it’s going to be.
With so many resources, volunteers, learning opportunities, organizations and outlets readily at our disposal – places like the ENC – raising kids in Costa Mesa is truly a joy and an adventure.
And even though the ENC is technically 1/2 a block shy of our border, I say we give them honorary Costa Mesan status, anyway. ♥
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*We will always start by shopping / looking in Costa Mesa, first. But if we really need something and an alternative is nowhere to be found in Costa Mesa, we’ll stray. Also, as parents, we’ve decided that certain kid-related things (mainly educational) will need to remain baked in.
