TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION DOCENT INFORMATION HISTORY FACILITY YARD/EDUCATION COURTYARD RESTORATION HABITATS ANIMALS AT SHIPLEY BIRDS TOURS Revised August 2012 FRIENDS OF SHIPLEY NATURE CENTER MISSION STATEMENT The Friends of Shipley Nature Center is a non-profit organization formed to manage the Nature Center as an ecological sanctuary for California native plants and wildlife and to provide environmental education in an urban setting in partnership with the City of Huntington Beach and the local community, and with the wider world. WELCOME Welcome to the Friends of Shipley Nature Center (Friends) Docent training classes. A “docent” is a guide and teacher. As a Docent, you will not only be guiding visitors through the Shipley Nature Center, you will also be teaching them about the ecological importance of wildlands, wildlife and the efforts of groups like the Friends in wildlands restoration and conservation. Your role is vitally important. The Center once served over 40,000 visitors from in and around Huntington Beach and provided free outdoor environmental education field trips to over 9000 school children every year. When the City of Huntington Beach was forced to make dire budget cuts Shipley Nature Center was closed and the gates were locked in October 2002. By providing informative educational programs, you can significantly increase the number of people who are knowledgeable about and appreciative of the Center. Our goal is to have everyone who visits Shipley Nature Center enjoy the restored habitats, learn something new, and become involved in some way to keep the vision of a restored and open Shipley Nature Center a reality. The training sessions, field trips and this manual should provide you with the majority of information that you will need. Periodically field trips and outings will be planned specifically for docents geared for your continuing education. This program is a learning process for all concerned. We need your feedback, whether it is compliments, complaints, or suggestions. Welcome again to the Friends’ Docent program. We hope your work with us will be educational, gratifying and most important, enjoyable. If you are interested in joining the Education Committee, please let us know, as there is a valuable roll you can fulfill. Shirley Dettloff Education Chairperson Shipley Nature Center FACTS ABOUT SHIPLEY AND THE INTERPRETIVE CENTER Shipley Nature Center was opened in 1974 and is an 18-acre fenced natural area within Huntington Beach Central Park in Huntington Beach, California. It was named after former Huntington Beach Mayor, Donald D. Shipley. The center is owned by the City of Huntington Beach. The Nature Center includes 4,000 feet of trails that meander through several habitats, including Oak Woodland, Torrey Pines, meadows, Redwood Forest, Riparian Sycamore Alder Grove, Coastal Sage Scrub, willows and Blackbird Pond, a natural freshwater wetland with mature willows and sycamores. Within the Nature Center is a 1,500 sq. ft. Interpretive Building with exhibits on local wildlife and ecology as well as the history of the area. The City closed the Nature Center and Interpretive Building in 2002 due to lack of funding. People in Huntington Beach took action and the Friends of Shipley Nature Center was formed to keep the center open. They have been extremely successful and have, not only restored the habitats of Shipley and restored the Interpretive Center, but they have kept the gates open for the enjoyment of the citizens of Huntington Beach. The Nature Center lies in the western part of Huntington Beach Central Park, south of Slater Street and west of Goldenwest Street. The Nature Center receives thousands of visitors, both adults and children's school groups each year. With 18 acres of mature trees and native plants, the Nature Center provides valuable natural habitat for insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds, including three endangered bird species. Shipley is a popular place for people to enjoy the beauty of nature. Over the years, the Nature Center became overrun with invasive exotic plant species that crowded out more desirable native plants on which the local native wildlife depends. Non-native tamarisk and giant reed depleted the ground water. Dead Monterey pines, which have already been removed, were a fire risk, as was the giant reed, all of which has been removed. Blackbird Pond suffered from a lack of oxygen, especially during the summer months. The water level is very dependent on “Mother Nature” and the amount of rain this area receives during the winter months. One year it can overflow and the next dry out with very little water in the center of the pond. Restoration was key to rehabilitating Shipley Nature Center. This was an enormous task and it was all done by volunteers and the Orange County Conservation Corps. Non- natives were removed with volunteers spending every Saturday on removal projects. Native Plants were planted and the original intent of having a place in Huntington Beach where people could view what California was like 100 years ago was achieved. Now we are in a maintenance mode which must always be carefully controlled and monitored, as non-natives are aggressive and can return at any time, and do! A key element in the over-all Shipley program is the Education Program. Educational programs are presented throughout the year. Docent led tours are given on a daily basis. The Orange County Department of Education use Shipley as an educational area for their Inside the Outdoors program which provides services for thousands of children throughout Orange County. INTERPRETIVE GOALS The definition of interpretation is “communication with the public to help bring out the meaning of something or to explain something to an audience.” As Friends’ Docents, you will be interpreting the Center for many visitors who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to visit. The goals of interpretation are as many as there are places to interpret. Several have been selected for emphasis at the Center, and we hope these will aid you in better communicating with your audiences. A. Goals 1. To enhance visitor knowledge of the Shipley Nature Center. Many community members know very little about the Center and its ecological, educational and recreational importance. The Center is valuable to birds and other wildlife and it extends the open space adjacent and connected to Shipley Nature Center. By presenting this information to your audience, and stimulating them with questions, you will allow them to come to their own conclusions about why this resource is important and worth restoring and saving for future generations. 2. To introduce visitors to Friends of Shipley Nature Center and its activities. The role of the Friends in supporting restoration of the Center has been vitally important in the past year. By explaining to your group about the Friends, you will inevitably generate further support for future Friends’ efforts; this support is much needed and appreciated. With this in mind, you should stay informed of Friends activities and carry membership brochures, to be given out at the end of all tours. 3. To provide an enjoyable visit for your tour groups. Give visitors an experience they will value and recommend to others by showing your own enjoyment of the Center, its wildlife and history. Although the wildlife is not “on display” at the Center for public entertainment, birds in particular may exhibit behavior that provokes amusement or comment; use these entertaining moments as focuses for teaching, thus encouraging your audience to both observe and enjoy. 4. To make visitors aware of the Center’s needs. In order to insure restoration of the Center, the public must take some responsibility. Inform your tour groups of ways in which they can contribute if they are interested: through Friends’ membership, by communicating their opinions to local officials and government, or by participation in activities such as events and the docent program. Often people are quite willing to help out if they realize the many options that they have for involvement. 5. To enjoy yourself! Being at the Center and working among its wildlife should be an enjoyable experience for you and a welcome change of pace. After a while you should find yourself anticipating before your tour what new birds and insects you might see, what seasonal migrations might be occurring, what plants might be in bloom, etc. Allow some time before your tour to acquaint yourself with any interesting things you can point out to your group when it arrives. CONDUCTING TOURS DOCENT INFORMATION AND PROCEDURES A. Description of Public Tours The Friends of Shipley Nature Center conduct public docent led tours of the Shipley Nature Center upon prior request. The tour lasts about 45 minutes. The following is a brief outline of those tours. More information is in the docent manual under general public tours and school tours. 1. General Public Tours Reservations must be made for General Public tours. The tours last about an hour. Topics covered: History, Ecological Restoration, Habitat, Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation Education, (following the chapters in the manual.) 2. School Tours These tours also require reservations. A grade level specific tour is provided to grades K-6. School tours normally require three to four Docents. B. Purpose of the Tour 1. Present the general public with information about the importance of restoring the habitat. 2. Introduce the public to the Friends of Shipley Nature Center and their activities and needs. The goal of the Friends is to restore the Center and the tour should reflect this. C. Docent Presentations 1. Be prepared! Docents can prepare their presentations from information gained from the docent training manual, various publications and handouts and special training meetings. It is important to be prepared. Practice and time yourself in advance.