Planting a Mini-California

Standing in work boots with dirt streaked on his face and glue covering his hands, Dana Hills High School science teacher Mike Sullivan explains to his two dozen science students about dirt and mulch piles that need to be dumped with wheelbarrows, redwood trees needing water and irrigation pipes that need to be glued.

The Environmental Education Center, Sullivan’s full-time outdoor project for the last two years, is taking root.

With the help of private donations and some grants, Sullivan and his students have transformed a barren strip of coastal canyon next to the school into a picturesque landscape that will feature 13 mini-ecosystems representing the range of the California outdoors.

They’re not finished with the open-air canyon classroom yet. Sullivan says they will complete the project this spring. He got the idea for the center five years ago. Inspired by a field trip to educate students, Sullivan wanted to create an on-site outdoor laboratory for his students to experiment and learn about the outdoors.

The canyon project includes a butterfly and bird habitat, boulders, a dozen varieties of trees and a 150-foot stream that runs into a pond. The students have constructed dirt paths with fences made from logs bolted and tied together with rope. An amphitheater and bleachers occupy the middle of the canyon swath for midfield lectures.

Sullivan’s dream for the center is that older students will learn to teach younger students, who will be brought by bus from surrounding elementary and middle schools to learn about plant life, biology and ecosystems.

“I want the students to develop a love of the outdoors and a sense of stewardship for it,” Sullivan said. “I want this center to explode. I want every kid in the district to be able to visit it and learn something new.”

Students say that Sullivan’s enthusiasm for the project is contagious, that they’ve started to really care about their environment, have stopped littering and are now paying attention to the names of plants, trees and flowers.

“I don’t take things as much for granted,” said Jeremy Ruiz, 17, who lives in Riverside. “We’ve had some trees die on us. You realize that you’re not going to be here forever, like the tree. Life’s short for them, and life could be short for me too.”

The project has received more than $90,000 in grants and support from community members. Sullivan, a 1981 graduate of Dana Hills High, says he still needs to raise money to put in plants and finish the irrigation system. He would also like to put up a trailer by the canyon site to use as a portable classroom and museum dedicated to explaining the ecosystems of California.

The principal of Dana Hills High, James Walshe, said he’s thrilled with the center and proud of Sullivan and his students for taking on such a complex project.

The only people who don’t share an unbridled enthusiasm for the Environmental Education Center are sundry neighbors adjacent to the center who want the work completed.

“It just looks half-finished,” said neighbor John Smeets of Dana Point. “It’s kind of an eyesore.”

But other neighbors say they are thrilled with the project.

“Anything those schools want to do is fine by me,” said Earline Beauchamp, a neighbor who has lived in her Dana Point home for 38 years. “Anything to educate the kids. They can make all the noise they want.”