Mar 22, 2025 – Field Trip Natural History Museum Nature Gardens

Thanks to all who came!  We had near-capacity attendance and thoroughly enjoyed the gardens.  Tour leaders Irene Eppard and Stephanie Macias (pictured here) were gracious and welcoming!

NHM Garden Tour 2025

 

Join us on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 9:00 AM at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum (NHM) Nature Gardens.  Email your RSVP with number of attendees to southcoastcnps@gmail.com.  Make your reservations early to avoid running out of space!  All family and garden lovers are welcome!

The vibrant Nature Gardens at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened to the public in 2013 after several years of planning, design, demolition, and planting. Asphalt parking lots and tired, water-thirsty lawns were transformed into 3.5 acres of habitat for urban wildlife, providing a place for visitors to experience nature in an urban setting and to assist museum scientists in documenting the rich biodiversity found in the Los Angeles Basin.  The garden was designed (by Mia Lehrer and Associates, now Studio MLA) and installed and maintained (as habitat for wildlife and as a field site to study urban biodiversity) by Carol Bornstein, who spoke at our Chapter meeting in March of 2024 when we last visited the NHM Gardens.

Pacific Horticulture has this to say: At the edge of a quiet stream, a Mourning Dove wades and drinks. A Western Kingbird drops down just inches away to also sip the clear water. Where is this haven of refreshment? Yes, it is in Los Angeles County, but it’s not in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, nor even the wild spots at Griffith Park. It is just outside the oldest museum building in Los Angeles, the Natural History Museum (NHM). Many birds such as these have acclimated themselves to life in a big city. But when the same camera trap that captured these images also reveals a Cooper’s Hawk taking a leisurely bath, an American Crow dunking his daily bread, and both Western Tanagers and Hooded Orioles taking advantage of this refuge, it indicates that something special has been created here…(more). LINK

  •  9:00a-11:30 – Field trip: LA Natural History Museum Garden, 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007.
    • Meet us at 9:00a for a docent-led tour of the garden.  The tour will be led by NHM horticulturalists.
  • NEW 3/19: If you pre-register (or have already pre-registered) via email then look for a reply email with instructions for complimentary parking and admission for the day!
    • All guests will check in at Car Park and at the North Ticket booth.  Limited spots are still available.
    • Parking is located in a lot at the north west corner of the Museum, at 3724 Bill Robertson Ln, Los Angeles, 90037 (map link).
      • Participants will pull into the parking lot and speak to the guard. Please park on the top level of the lot. After parking, walk to the east end of the parking lot and gather near the North Ticket Booth as a group.
    • Please meet NHM team members, Stephanie and Irene, at the North Ticketing Booth at 9am on Saturday. They will be there waiting and ready to help facilitate wristbands and entry. Early arrivals please wait near the ticket booth.
  • Stay as long as you like.  When participants leave, they will again have to let the parking attendant know that they were with the CNPS group (since it may be staffed by a different department after opening at 9:30 am.).
  • Lunch suggestion: Mercado La Paloma 3655 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90007. Walkable from NHM
Event (SCCNPS), Field Trip
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