Nature Center opens Saturday

Starting Saturday, park visitors will have a new portal to the vast wilderness system in South Orange County.

The James and Rosemary Nix Nature Center, 18751 Laguna Canyon Road, will open to the public daily beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The center is located at the crossroads of the 20,000-acre South Coast Wilderness system of parks and preserves, and includes extensive interpretive exhibits to aid visitors’ appreciation for the coastal canyons environment, history and culture.

“We want to remind people that Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and the surrounding open space should be preserved in perpetuity,” said James Nix, who, with his wife, Rosemary, donated $500,000 in “seed money” in 1999 to start the center.

As the park’s new headquarters, the Nix Nature Center will be the gateway for recreational users to explore a vast network of linked trails throughout the 6,600-acre Laguna Coast Wilderness park — including the James Dilley Preserve, and Willow, Sycamore and Laurel canyons as well as Crystal Cove State Park and City of Irvine Open Space Preserve South.

The realigned section of Laguna Canyon Road provides undercrossings for park visitors and wildlife, and direct access to Orange County’s only natural lake, Barbara’s Lake.

Laguna Woods Village residents Jim and Rosemary Nix provided the initial $500,000 gift for the nature center to the Laguna Canyon Foundation in 1999.

Since then, individual and corporate donors have joined with nonprofits and county government to create the center.

The $3.4-million nature center budget also includes Orange County funding from the state park bond approved by California voters in 2000 and a pledge from the Laguna Canyon Foundation.

The foundation is also funding the interpretive exhibit program through private donations and funds from the state park bond and will be coordinating the nature center’s volunteer programs. The nature center will be managed by the County Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department.

“The Nix Nature Center is a prime example of a successful public and private partnership, a celebration of our combined energy,” said Laguna Canyon Foundation President Michael Pinto.

Designed by Roesling Nakamura Terada Architects, Inc. and Spurlock Poirier Landscape Architects, the nature center incorporates “green” design elements, including a rammed-earth wall (similar to adobe), radiant floor heat and maximal use of natural lighting and ventilation.

The exterior features interpretive panels and art; a donor recognition courtyard; picnic tables; a “painter’s pier” for artists; and an easy, 1/2-mile loop trail funded by the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust’s gift to Laguna Canyon Foundation.

A shaded gathering area and photovoltaic solar energy system will be added at a later date.

The 2,000-square-foot exhibit hall features interactive displays, interpretive panels, fossil-embedded rockwork, audio recordings, projected images, art and artifacts.

Its picture windows frame four main views, or portals — titled “The Peaks of Saddleback,” “Little Sycamores,” “Of Bunchgrass and Buckwheat” and “Stories in Stone” — that form the cornerstones of the exhibit plan.

The exhibit looks at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park through the eyes of a scientist, artist and historian while urging visitors to explore the trails outside, planners said. Exhibit designers include The Acorn Group, SoLa Creative and the Shop @ Show Ready.

“The nature center will help visitors to understand the significance and beauty of the surrounding wilderness,” said Parker Hancock, interim director of Harbors, Beaches and Parks

The Nix Nature Center is located at 18751 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park’s Little Sycamore Canyon staging area, 3.5 miles south of the I-405 and Route 133 interchange.

Hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., including holidays, with free admission. Parking will be available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will cost $3.

For more information, call (949) 923-2235 or visit www.lagunacanyon.org or www.ocparks.com.