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The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles,
February 02, 2001
Mentioned in "Go Hug a Tree", by Julie Greunbaum
Fax
Take a Hike
The Children's Nature Institute (CNI), a nonprofit group founded by a nature-loving
mom in 1985, has a long roster of family-friendly nature walks. CNI docents
lead several educational walks every week, where they help children use all
five senses to decipher their environment. The hikes are about two hours of
leisurely walking along a trail, some of them stroller-friendly. For groups
of about 20 people, CNI will arrange for private walks.
The institute also does outreach through educational field trips for inner-city
schools and for kids with special needs. Its Wonder Mobiles are portable museums
about birds, insects and mammals that are available for schools and birthday
parties.
I spoke with Lizette Castano, the assistant to the executive director at Children's
Nature Institute, about trails Tu B'Shevat hikers could tackle on their own.
Here are some of her favorites.
Solstice Canyon in Malibu, off Coral Canyon Road from Pacific Coast Highway,
has a beautiful, wide trail with sycamores and oaks where kids have fun searching
for woodpecker holes or listening for the telltale tap-tap. The canyon has
a small stream with frogs and other creatures living in little pools. The site
is shady, with all the basics: bathroom, water fountain and parking.
Temescal Canyon is a good one for families with kids in strollers, with its
paved trail and convenient parking. There are huge eucalyptus, oak and sycamore
trees, plenty of squirrels and, if you're lucky deer.
For those without strollers, continue up the trail for a substantial hike up
the canyon to a small waterfall and creek.
Temescal Canyon Road is off Sunset, near Pacific Coast Highway.
Malibu Lagoon is a good destination for a marine experience. Birds are plentiful
at this oceanside lagoon, and there are bridges from which you can watch fish
and other marine wildlife. Rock hunting and studying sizes and colors of grains
of sand stuck to clear tape are favorite CNI activities here….
Budding botanists can head out to Santa Ynez canyon in Pacific Palisades, where
a wide variety of plant life abounds and a stream runs through the area.
Castano says she hasn't seen too many birds at the Griffith Park Bird Sanctuary,
but there are a lot of other interesting details that make it a worthwhile
outing. Look for spider webs in intricate patterns, and animal signatures such
as gnawed off twigs and piles of leaves amid sycamores and wild mustard….
Eaton Canyon in Pasadena is worth a visit just for its nature center, Castano
says. Plants are identified along trail, and there are some great smells, especially
after it rains. There are plenty of ground squirrels, lizards and insects….
My current favorite spot is Franklin Canyon, accessible where Coldwater and
Mulholland meet (across from TreePeople). I was first introduced to the park
through CNI when my toddler and I sang songs about pine trees and we identified
wood ducks - birds with black-and-white heads, iridescent green crests and
red-ringed eyes. The pond has picnic tables around it, along with some big
rocks to climb on. The trail around the newly restored reservoir has tons of
lizards and a tepee to sit in. The nature center has an exhibit of local flora
and fauna and deals with water issues. Parking, bathrooms, water fountains
and even a few vending machines make this is a very friendly site.
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