Environmental & Cultural Studies Center

The environmental & cultural studies center will serve as the home base for outdoor classrooms throughout the Sepulveda Basin, effectively transforming the entire area (an important stop for many species of migratory birds) into an indoor/outdoor laboratory. Courses will be part of two curriculums – Environmental Sciences & Sustainability and Social Sciences.
The studies center will share an 18,000 SF pavilion with the proposed Native American restaurant & event space. This pavilion is immediately adjacent to the 35 acre Bull Creek restoration area to the west, a 9 acre native plant foraging garden to the east, a 1.3 acre native plant nursery to the north and a 0.75 acre kitchen garden to the south. The proposed Native American model village will be located on the northern edge of the Bull Creek restoration area, a 2-3 minute walk from the studies center.
Each of these facilities will play key roles in providing hands-on study:

The restaurant will provide a course in the study of culinary arts and sciences, raising student awareness of nature's role in the evolution of culture and science; and indigenous ways of life as a model of modern sustainability,
The Bull Creek restoration project will provide an opportunity to study watershed conservation and habitat restoration. Students may have a limited role in this work,
The 1.3 acre native plant nursery and 9-acre foraging garden, composed of native plants traditionally gathered by indigenous communities for food and other uses, will be included in a course in indigenous culture as part of the social sciences curriculum. This, and the rehabilitation of Bull Creek, will serve the studies center as an example of supporting native wildlife species and pollinators,
The vegetable, herb and flower kitchen garden will serve overall educational objectives that include educating students about nutrition & sustainable food supply practices, and research-based studies into the sustainable transformation of our system of food production,
The Native American model village will enable study in indigenous knowledge and be part of the social sciences curriculum,
The pavilion building housing the studies center, restaurant and event space will also be a teaching tool, demonstrating the principles of sustainable building technoligies.