Prisk Native Garden

Prisk Native Garden Its larger purpose is to immerse children in nature to create respect for nature and encourage its preservation; also to foster the idea of outdoor education.

This Garden, founded in 1995, is a schoolyard habitat featuring CA native plants & animals, and we support and promote the idea of immersing youngsters in nature for therapeutic and special educational benefits not found in indoor classrooms. This 7,500 square-foot, semi-wild garden (essentially a "nature center" or "schoolyard habitat" among other names) provides an educational resource utilizing

the native flora and fauna of California. There are now numerous studies that show that in natural settings young people can "de-stress" from everyday concerns, and can "slow down" to make more meaningful observations than they could accomplish in ordinary classroom environments. The garden is roughly organized around several plant communities or hybrid "environments" (including a wetlands complex of a creek and a pond). Among the associative disciplines that can be studied first hand by our students are: biology, botany, environmental sciences, solar energy, ethnobotany (human/indigenous peoples' uses of native plants), entomology, ornithology, local and regional geology and geography, California history and social studies, horticulture, wildlife photography, art, and crafts. The Garden is worked by volunteers only, and hopefully will exist for many years for the health and educational benefits of children and young people.

I can't let this one pass without a comment. Wendell Berry, environmentalist, planet lover, poet, gentleman sustainable ...
09/05/2026

I can't let this one pass without a comment. Wendell Berry, environmentalist, planet lover, poet, gentleman sustainable farmer, lecturer, Medal of Freedom winner: passed away just a few days ago. He authored one of my favorite quotes about nature: "The Earth is what we all have in common." So we are all called upon to protect it, make it flourish, and stop degrading it. This 92-year-old visionary was among the best of us and we need his kind desperately these days. He joins the late, great Jane Goodall, another planet protector, in history. They inspire us and keep us going.--Mike

I'll soon announce our first work party this year. Here are two pics from two different work parties. We've had some spl...
09/05/2026

I'll soon announce our first work party this year. Here are two pics from two different work parties. We've had some splendid volunteers over time, like the Fabulous Flanigans on the left. And yes, we had them during the COVID era, too!--Mike

Delightful time in Garden yesterday with Maya Smith and her many and varied troops! Click on each photo for your elucida...
09/01/2026

Delightful time in Garden yesterday with Maya Smith and her many and varied troops! Click on each photo for your elucidations!--Mike

Whoops! I published two photos of Maya Smith and in trying to edit one out I erased both! So here she is, again. The nex...
09/01/2026

Whoops! I published two photos of Maya Smith and in trying to edit one out I erased both! So here she is, again. The next caption down below on the Page belongs to this photo. (Uh, get it? 😁)--Mike

09/01/2026

See the top of her head above that Calliandra as she was standing in the Desert Wash? It's Maya Reuben-Smith, another superfan of the Garden who brought her own second-grade troops in today as a preview of the year. I always love Maya's visits, because she's another who really "gets" the Garden and is a good ally of what we're doing. More tomorrow about the visit.--Mike

The troops! The troops are back! Colette Napier brought her kids in for her yearly first-week ritual to let the kids imm...
08/28/2026

The troops! The troops are back! Colette Napier brought her kids in for her yearly first-week ritual to let the kids immerse themselves in nature and get their pictures taken. Always a harbinger for the rest of the year. The kids wandered around, made observations, took delight in the bugs and lizards and asked about the frogs (if any), fed the fish, asked questions, and made me forget the muggy weather for just a little while, at least!--Mike

Occasionally, when I see articles about how we can green up our urban spaces (including our campuses!), I'll publish one...
08/26/2026

Occasionally, when I see articles about how we can green up our urban spaces (including our campuses!), I'll publish one. Here's a new wrinkle on creating urban forests, which we sorely need.--Mike

Urban heat's overlooked fix: Greening the land upwind of cities
A study published in Nature Cities suggests that forests placed strategically outside urban cores can lower temperatures across much of a city.
https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/?p=242437

Another pic from buddy George Nanoski: I bought this species at Tree of Life Nursery almost 30 years ago, and if I was ...
08/25/2026

Another pic from buddy George Nanoski: I bought this species at Tree of Life Nursery almost 30 years ago, and if I was the purist then that I am now, and I'd have known its native territory in more southern Baja rather than in the appropriate northern part, I might not have bought it. But hey, there it is every year, climbing the fence and lookin' fetchin' as heck! (Its sprays of gorgeous pink flowers look great in a vase, too.) It's Baja coral vine (or in Spanish, rosa de montana), Antigonon leptopus. And for everybody's info, the Garden features natives of what the Botanists call the "California Floristic Province," which is all of CA proper, but includes a lot of northern Baja Peninsula and some of the Islands, like Guadalupe in the Pacific and Cedros, in the Gulf of California.--Mike

Friend and nature-center colleague in the LAUSD George Nanoski took some pics while in the Garden and caught this little...
08/23/2026

Friend and nature-center colleague in the LAUSD George Nanoski took some pics while in the Garden and caught this little guy who landed after some typical constant flitting about with his companions over our two fairy dusters (Calliandra sp.) in the Desert Wash area. It's Leptotes marina, marine blue butterfly, one of the little guys in the butterfly province, and it's always a delight to have them as part of our ecosystem.--Mike

I've posted something before about this "back forty" site up our Desert Wash that I'm renovating and replanting. I love ...
08/21/2026

I've posted something before about this "back forty" site up our Desert Wash that I'm renovating and replanting. I love to berm up areas and spade in lots of gravelly, sandy, "authentic" desert soils for maximum drainage for desert plants. (And with this titanic El Nino Event coming this fall/winter, I'll feel better that the species in this site don't keep "their feet wet" too long over time.) I also like to "sculpt," not just build the berms. I started to cover the bank of this grouping with decomposed granite ("d.g." in the trade) that I'll moisten and even employ a spatula on (just as I used to spread drywall mud on wall repairs when I was a contractor). When I'm done it'll look like the thin wall of supportive d.g. was actually part of the bank. Funsies! (Later on I'll talk about the desert species I'm planting there.)--Mike

Address

2375 Fanwood Ave-Garden Interstate On Los Arcos Around Corner From School Ofc. Address
Long Beach, CA
90815

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Prisk Native Garden posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category