The ENC

I'm looking forward to our field trip to the ENC this Saturday. It's located in my neighborhood, and I've spent many a pleasant hour there either with my students, on my own with a sack lunch or wandering down the impressive trail looking at birds. I've personally seen its transformation from a portable plunked down on a piece of rough land, surrounded by a glorious trail through a dozen simulated classic California habitats, to now a dazzling LEED platinum certified green building - providing a stunning portal into the nature center. This building is the first in Orange County to receive this level of certification! LEED-certified buildings, "have smaller development footprints, are healthier environments for occupants and serve as stewards in environmental and social responsibility." In the words on the ENC website,


The ENC has been teaching and growing within our community for over 35 years. Having a building of our own has been a dream since our inception and we can finally say that our dream has come true. Our 8,500 square-foot sustainable learning center provides vital classroom and educational spaces and serves as an educational tool itself. We hope that our building can show the benefits of environmentally-conscious design and teach our visitors how to implement sustainable features in their homes and businesses. Most importantly, we hope the center will inspire our visitors to make personal investments in the protection of the environment.


To learn more, please follow this link to the LEED Platinum ENC Building page: http://www.encenter.org/visit/greenbuilding.shtml

I'm excited to see an such a vital, important and worthy organization grow exponentially. The ENC truly is spreading the word for the environment. With the advent of their Green Building, it's an impressive place now both outwardly and inwardly.