Stoneview Nature Center

County-operated garden and education center in Culver City, California
34°00′52″N 118°22′35″W / 34.01444°N 118.37639°W / 34.01444; -118.37639Area5 acres (20,000 m2)Established2017Administered byLos Angeles CountyPaths.25 mi (0.40 km) fitness loopHabitatsCoastal sageParkingDedicated lot, limited street parkingPublic transit accessBaldwin Hills Link, Culver CityBus route 5Websiteparks.lacounty.gov

Stoneview Nature Center is a county-operated garden and educational facility in Culver City, California along the Park to Playa Trail.[1]

The nature center building and gardens are part of a “transformation of a five-acre brownfield site in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Culver City, California.”[2] The main building, designed by Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, is 4,000 square feet (370 m2) and features community space, a meeting/classroom, an outdoor kitchen, and bathrooms.[2]

The park, which has a focus on native California and edible plantings, includes a raised-bed Mediterranean demonstration garden, a native grass meadow, and installations by the contemporary art collective Fallen Fruit.[3][4] The edible landscaping includes oranges, avocados, figs, grapes, lemons, blackberries, and blueberries, and less-familiar California native edibles including lemonade berry, coffee berry and prickly pear.[1][5]

Edible plantings and picnic table

Fitness equipment and workout classes are offered at the park. Stoneview is a key segment of the 13 mi (21 km) Park to Playa Trail; “good views of L.A. are guaranteed on the dirt-and-paved track from Baldwin Hills to Playa del Rey.”[6][7]

The center operates an apiary in partnership with HoneyLove as well as a furnishing an elaborate hotel for native bee, both as part of a public outreach campaign on the importance of pollinating insects.[8]

Housing for mason and carpenter bees

Stoneview was recommended by local public-radio station KCRW as an outdoor refuge during the pandemic.[9]

The land was previously a primary school campus from 1956 to 2010, and was acquired by the Baldwin Hills Regional Conservation Authority in 2011. [10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Peleg, Oren (2017-06-14). "Enjoy Figs, Grapes, And Lemonade Berries At This 5-Acre Park In Culver City". LAist. Archived from the original on 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  2. ^ a b "Stoneview Nature Center". Architect. Archived from the original on 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  3. ^ "Americans for the Arts: Stoneview Nature Center". 2018. Archived from the original on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  4. ^ "From Brown to Green with Tasty Eats!". MIG. 2019-06-28. Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  5. ^ Wei, Clarissa (2017-06-13). "This Art Group Installs Pick-Your-Own-Fruit Parks Around Los Angeles". NPR. Archived from the original on 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  6. ^ Donloe, Darlene (2020-07-29). "Conservancy keeps Baldwin Hills looking natural". Wave Publications. Archived from the original on 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  7. ^ Forgione, Mary, and Matt Pawlik. "50 SIMPLY FABULOUS HIKES; make this Your Bucket List for all Southern California Hiking has to Offer." Los Angeles Times, Mar 14, 2021.
  8. ^ "Stoneview Nature Center Sanctuary Apiary". bondaccountability.resources.ca.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  9. ^ "Enjoying nature while social distancing: It's easier and safer than you think". KCRW. Archived from the original on 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  10. ^ Scupine (2013-08-19). "LA County Considering Building a Nature Center in Blair Hills Area of Culver City – Culver City Times". culvercitytimes.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-28. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
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