Environmental Nature Center - ENC

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Environmental Nature Center - ENC Mission: To provide transformative experiences through connection with nature. Visit encenter.org/donate and join our efforts.

Please join us in connecting people to nature by donating to the Environmental Nature Center during this season of giving. On behalf of the Board of Directors and our amazing staff, we wish you and your family a safe and wonderful holiday season. Thank you for your commitment to being a part of the solution!

🎃 TODAY'S THE DAY!The ENC Fall Faire & Pumpkin Patch is TODAY from 10 AM–3 PM!The pumpkins are waiting, the animals are ...
10/18/2026

🎃 TODAY'S THE DAY!

The ENC Fall Faire & Pumpkin Patch is TODAY from 10 AM–3 PM!

The pumpkins are waiting, the animals are ready, Savor OC is cooking and we're getting everything ready for you.

Come PLAY • EAT • CREATE • GATHER • GIVE with us. 💚

See you at the ENC!

For more information, visit encenter.org.

🎃 Fall Faire is TOMORROW!The pumpkins are ready, and we can't wait to welcome you to the ENC!Come spend your Sunday outs...
10/17/2026

🎃 Fall Faire is TOMORROW!

The pumpkins are ready, and we can't wait to welcome you to the ENC!

Come spend your Sunday outside with us—eat something delicious, pick a pumpkin, meet some animals, make something, play, explore, and enjoy one of our favorite days of the year.

🎃 Fall Faire & Pumpkin Patch
📅 TOMORROW — Sunday, October 18
⏰ 10 AM–3 PM
🌿 Environmental Nature Center

PLAY • EAT • CREATE • GATHER • GIVE

See you tomorrow! 🎃💚

For more information, visit encenter.org.

🌅🐦 32 BIRD SPECIES. ONE MAGICAL MORNING. ONE VERY SPECIAL PLACE. 🌿There's something extraordinary about the Environmenta...
10/17/2026

🌅🐦 32 BIRD SPECIES. ONE MAGICAL MORNING. ONE VERY SPECIAL PLACE. 🌿

There's something extraordinary about the Environmental Nature Center in the early morning hours. Sunlight filters through the trees, birdsong fills the air, and wildlife goes about its business in this little oasis in the heart of Newport Beach.

On October 14, our wonderful volunteer bird survey team documented an incredible 32 bird species (plus one additional bird taxon!) during just a few hours at the ENC!

Among their sightings were a Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Flicker, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, and 21 Yellow-rumped Warblers! Even the neighboring field provided habitat for shorebirds.

💚 This is what we're working to protect.

A proposed three-story development immediately adjacent to the ENC threatens to change this special place forever. Increased building heights, shading, noise, lighting, and human activity could disrupt the tranquility and habitat that make this remarkable biodiversity possible.

We cannot take this magic for granted.

📣 PLEASE JOIN US TO HELP PROTECT THE ENC!

📅 Tuesday, November 17, 2026
🕓 4:00 PM
📍 Newport Beach City Council Chambers
100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach

Your presence matters. Help us preserve the habitat, open sky, and peaceful refuge that wildlife and our community depend on.

Learn more at encenter.org.

📸 Beautiful photographs generously shared by Betty Kanne, James Kendall, and Cassandra Margitan.

Special thanks to our dedicated bird survey volunteers Brian Bleecker, Jim Kendall, Cassandra Margitan, and Betty Kanne for documenting the incredible birdlife at the ENC!

🐦 Calling all early birds!Start your Sunday morning with the birds at ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary on October 25.Our Ea...
10/16/2026

🐦 Calling all early birds!

Start your Sunday morning with the birds at ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary on October 25.
Our Earlybird Sunday bird walk is designed especially for beginning and intermediate birders, although all ages and experience levels are welcome. We’ll start with a quick introduction to binoculars and bird identification, then head out to explore Tucker’s oak woodland, riparian, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral habitats.

October is also a wonderful time to keep an eye out for seasonal migrants passing through Southern California. You never know who might show up!

Bring your own binoculars or borrow a pair from us.

📅 Sunday, October 25
⏰ 8–9:30 AM
📍 ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary
🌿 ENC members FREE | Non-members $5
👉 Register at encenter.org

🌅 Morning magic at the Environmental Nature Center.Sunrise is a special time here. As the first rays of sunlight filter ...
10/16/2026

🌅 Morning magic at the Environmental Nature Center.

Sunrise is a special time here. As the first rays of sunlight filter through the trees, the ENC comes alive in the golden morning light. It's a peaceful reminder of just how precious this little patch of nature is.

These beautiful views of the open sky are part of what makes the ENC so special, and they're at risk from the proposed development next door.

🌿 Please keep Tuesday, November 17 on your calendar! The Newport Beach City Council will hear our appeal, and we need our community to show up and help us protect the ENC for generations to come.

Learn more about what's at stake and how you can help at encenter.org.

🦇 This Saturday: Bewitching Bats at Tucker!Bring your little nature lovers to Stories by the Stream for a morning inspir...
10/15/2026

🦇 This Saturday: Bewitching Bats at Tucker!

Bring your little nature lovers to Stories by the Stream for a morning inspired by one of our favorite nighttime neighbors.

We’ll read Stellaluna, discover some of the remarkable bats of Southern California, and find out why there’s much more to these animals than their spooky Halloween reputation.

📅 Saturday, October 17
⏰ 10 AM–12 PM
📍 ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary
🌿 Ages 3+

Space permitting, there’s still time to join us!

👉 Register at encenter.org

🎃 THIS SUNDAY!The pumpkins are coming. The animals are coming. The food is coming.Now we just need YOU. 💚Join us for Fal...
10/15/2026

🎃 THIS SUNDAY!

The pumpkins are coming. The animals are coming. The food is coming.

Now we just need YOU. 💚

Join us for Fall Faire & Pumpkin Patch this Sunday, October 18 from 10 AM–3 PM!

🍴 Savor OC
🐴 Pony rides & petting zoo
🦉 Animal encounters
🎨 Games & crafts
🎶 Live entertainment
🎃 Pumpkin Patch
🛍️ Online auction

PLAY • EAT • CREATE • GATHER • GIVE

See you at the ENC!

For more information, visit encenter.org.

🍴 Come hungry to Fall Faire!We’re excited to welcome this year’s Savor OC participants, bringing delicious tastes from a...
10/14/2026

🍴 Come hungry to Fall Faire!

We’re excited to welcome this year’s Savor OC participants, bringing delicious tastes from around our community to the ENC:

🌮 SOHO TACO
🍕 Pizza Bakery
🥯 Shirley’s Bagels
🌶️ Zaab Thai
🍽️ Seasons 52
🌮 Mi Casa
🥣 Bluewater Grill
🍕 Mountain Mike’s Pizza
🍴 Love at First Bite
🧀 Hi-Time W**e Cellars
🥙 Zov’s
👨‍🍳 Primal Alchemy
☕ KEAN Coffee

Come sample your way through Fall Faire while enjoying everything else happening around the ENC, from the Pumpkin Patch and animal encounters to games, crafts, live entertainment and more!

🎃 50th Annual Fall Faire & Pumpkin Patch
Sunday, October 18 | 10 AM–3 PM
Environmental Nature Center | Newport Beach

And a HUGE thank you to our Savor OC participants for generously donating their delicious offerings and helping make this tasty Fall Faire tradition possible. 💚

Please show these wonderful local businesses some love!

Learn more at encenter.org.

🌿 Native Plant Tip Tuesday: Bring on the Buckwheats!Looking for a California native plant that's beautiful, drought-tole...
10/13/2026

🌿 Native Plant Tip Tuesday: Bring on the Buckwheats!

Looking for a California native plant that's beautiful, drought-tolerant, and a magnet for wildlife? Meet the buckwheats! 🦋🐝

One of our local favorites, California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), blooms for months, with flowers that gradually change from pale pink and creamy white to a beautiful rusty brown as the seasons progress.

But its beauty is only part of the story!

🐝 Pollinator powerhouse: Its abundant flowers attract native bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.

🦋 Butterfly nursery: California buckwheat serves as a host plant for several native butterflies, including metalmarks, coppers, and blues.

🐦 Food for birds: Its seeds provide food for finches, towhees, and other seed-eating birds.

🌱 Hardworking in the garden: This evergreen shrub is drought-tolerant, adaptable, and especially useful for stabilizing slopes.

Want to learn more? Dan Songster of the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society has written a wonderful article about California buckwheat, including growing tips, wildlife benefits, and varieties suited to smaller gardens.

📖 Read "California Buckwheat: A Long-Flowering Native Plant for Every Garden" on the OCCNPS Buckwheat Brings Butterflies blog. (Link in bio!)

🌿 And here's something to look forward to!

At our October 24 Native Plant Sale, in partnership with CNPS Orange County, we'll have FOUR beautiful California native buckwheats available:

🌸 Eriogonum giganteum – St. Catherine's lace

🌿 Eriogonum arborescens – Santa Cruz Island buckwheat

💛 Eriogonum crocatum – Conejo buckwheat

🦋 Eriogonum fasciculatum – California buckwheat

Each has its own distinctive character and offers valuable habitat for wildlife.

📅 Saturday, October 24 | 10 AM–3 PM

📍 Environmental Nature Center, Newport Beach

Come find the perfect buckwheat for your garden!

10/13/2026

🌿 Let's Grow Native!

Join us at the Environmental Nature Center on Saturday, October 24, from 10–11:30 AM for Native Plants in Containers with Mike Evans of Tree of Life Nursery and President of the California Native Horticultural Foundation!

Discover how to bring the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plants to patios, balconies, and small spaces. Learn tips for choosing plants, creating beautiful combinations, and keeping your container garden thriving.

Whether you have a sprawling garden or just a sunny patio, there's room for native plants! 🌱

📅 Saturday, October 24
⏰ 10–11:30 AM
📍 Environmental Nature Center, Newport Beach
register at encenter.org

And stick around for our California Native Plant Sale, happening from 10 AM–3 PM!

Address

1601 E 16th Street
Newport Beach, CA
92663

Opening Hours

Saturday 10am - 3pm
Sunday 10am - 3pm

Telephone

+19496458489

Website

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