Environmental Nature Center

The mission of the Environmental Nature Center is to provide transformative experiences through connection with nature. Its vision is to provide equitable access and inspire all to protect the natural world by serving as our community’s leader in ecological responsibility, sustainable practices and environmental education.

In 1972, teachers, students, and community volunteers transformed an abandoned gully beside Newport Harbor High School into a vibrant environmental education center. Since then, the Environmental Nature Center (ENC) has grown into a 5-acre campus in Newport Beach, offering hands-on, environmental-based science education to more than 50,000 people each year. The campus showcases 15 California native plant communities, walking trails, fossil specimen areas, a butterfly house, an amphitheater, and a Compost Learning Lab. Enhancing these outdoor spaces is the 8,500-square-foot Learning Center and Museum, the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Certified building in Orange County when it opened in 2008—an enduring testament to ENC’s commitment to sustainable design.

Each year, the ENC engages tens of thousands of students, educators, and community members through diverse programs, including school field trips, Traveling Naturalist visits, nature camps, community events, and professional development workshops.

Furthering its mission as a model for ecological responsibility, the ENC has earned TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Platinum Certification from Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), recognizing outstanding zero-waste performance. The ENC consistently diverts more than 97% of its waste from the landfill through thoughtful waste reduction, resource conservation, and public education—continuing its leadership in sustainable practices.

Since opening in 2019, the ENC Nature Preschool—Orange County’s first nature-based preschool and also LEED Platinum certified—has served as a regional model for early childhood education, offering STEM and nature-based learning to 72 children daily. The preschool has also achieved Petal Certification from the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge, an ambitious green building performance program. This distinction places ENC Nature Preschool among only a small number of projects worldwide to reach this level and remains a first for Orange County.

The ENC’s reach expanded further in 2021 with the acquisition of Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, a 12-acre property in Modjeska Canyon featuring a natural history museum, trails, and bird observation areas. Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary allows ENC to extend field trips, nature camps, and community programs to even more people across Orange County and through growing regional partnerships.

As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, the Environmental Nature Center remains dedicated to environmental education, sustainable practices, and the preservation of natural spaces. For more information, call 949-645-8489 or visit www.ENCenter.org

At the Environmental Nature Center, we believe that access to nature is essential to individual and community well-being. Yet many marginalized communities face barriers to experiencing natural spaces while disproportionately bearing the impacts of environmental challenges. By providing inclusive, welcoming opportunities to connect with nature at both the ENC and ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, we foster environmental literacy, curiosity, and a lasting sense of stewardship for our shared planet.

Our programs emphasize hands-on learning, inquiry, and meaningful engagement with the natural world. Through these experiences, participants come to understand that a healthy environment is foundational to public health, economic resilience, and long-term community well-being.

Each year, tens of thousands of students participate in ENC field trips and Traveling Naturalist programs, discovering science concepts through direct interaction with native ecosystems. Seasonal nature camps engage hundreds of children annually in outdoor exploration, encouraging confidence, curiosity, and respect for the living world.

The ENC Nature Preschool serves 72 children daily from diverse backgrounds, offering early childhood education rooted in nature-based and STEM learning. To ensure accessibility, the preschool provides scholarships to families in need, supporting an inclusive, community-centered educational model.

Across all programs, ENC’s dedicated staff and educators create immersive experiences that inspire participants of all ages to recognize their relationship to the natural world and their role in protecting it. Through education, stewardship, and community connection, the ENC is helping cultivate a more sustainable and resilient future.

The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) is seeking funding to strengthen organizational capacity and expand its impact across environmental education and conservation. Key priorities include:

Staff Capacity and Development
• Sustaining and strengthening staffing at ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary to support growing visitation, stewardship, and program delivery.
• Increasing staff compensation and professional development opportunities to retain skilled educators and land-stewardship professionals.

Infrastructure and Facility Improvements
• Retiring remaining debt associated with the ENC Nature Preschool facility.
• Developing a new retail native plant sales area at the ENC, along with an expanded propagation space to support education, conservation, and sustainability goals.
• Advancing plans for an environmentally responsible museum and administrative building at ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Implementing habitat restoration and land-management projects that protect biodiversity and enhance the visitor experience.

Program Access and Expansion
• Expanding subsidized programming for Title I schools and underserved communities.
• Increasing scholarship support to ensure families of all backgrounds can participate in ENC programs.

By addressing these priorities, the ENC will continue to deepen community connections to nature, advance environmental stewardship, and foster a healthier, more sustainable future for people and the planet.

The Environmental Nature Center serves a diverse population across Orange County and beyond, welcoming thousands of visitors annually. Our programs reach students from various socioeconomic backgrounds, including those from Title I schools. We are committed to providing equitable access to high-quality environmental education for all.

Since 1972, the Environmental Nature Center (ENC) has inspired people of all ages to connect with nature through hands-on environmental education and meaningful outdoor experiences. What began as a community effort to preserve open space and create opportunities for nature-based learning has grown into one of Southern California's leading environmental education organizations.

Today, the ENC serves more than 30,000 children and adults each year through school field trips, community programs, summer camps, volunteer opportunities, the award-winning ENC Nature Preschool, and the ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary. Through these experiences, participants develop a deeper understanding of the natural world, a stronger sense of environmental stewardship, and the knowledge and skills needed to help address the environmental challenges of our time.

As we look to the future, the ENC remains committed to creating transformative experiences that inspire people to care for the earth, live more sustainably, and become active participants in building healthier communities and a more resilient planet.

As Board Chair of the Environmental Nature Center (ENC), I am proud to support an organization that has been connecting people with nature for over 50 years.

Through environmental education, habitat restoration, and meaningful outdoor experiences, the ENC helps people of all ages develop a deeper understanding of the natural world and their role in protecting it. Each year, more than 30,000 children and adults participate in our field trips, camps, public programs, volunteer opportunities, and preschool programs, building the knowledge, skills, and values needed to create a more sustainable future.

At a time when communities face growing challenges such as climate change, habitat loss, and biodiversity decline, the ENC provides something essential: opportunities for people to form lasting connections with nature. Those connections inspire stewardship, encourage more sustainable choices, and empower individuals to become part of the solution.

The ENC is more than a place. It is a catalyst for change—cultivating environmental leaders, strengthening communities, and inspiring a lifelong commitment to caring for the natural world. Together, we are helping create a future in which both people and nature thrive.