The Rotary Nature Center Is Back!

By C.J. Hirschfield

“I spent many happy hours here when I was growing up, trying to find the queen bee at the Rotary Nature Center’s hive,” said Oakland’s own queen bee, Mayor Libby Schaaf. She was referring to the hive that fascinated generations of kids and adults at this treasured institution in Lakeside Park. The center was closed for two years, but it’s back now, along with many new exhibits and programs, as we learned at the grand reopening last Saturday.

Inside the reopened Rotary Nature Center

For the last year, I’ve been honored to be part of a core team working to restore, reimagine and reopen the center. On Saturday we joined civic officials and center supporters to welcome the community back in – with some fanfare – to see some of the  changes that have been made, and to celebrate the 66-year-old institution that has meant so much to so many Oakland kids and adults.

Damp weather didn’t deter the crowd at the Rotary Nature Center’s reopening on February 16.

The fanfare included interactive pop-up nature-nerd activities such as dissecting owl pellets, testing lake water, playing plankton bingo, matching bird-feet pictures with what they can do, and learning what an insect pooter is (an essential item for collecting small insects). As living proof of the wild nature that exists in the heart of Oakland, a migrating white pelican calmly regarded the proceedings and posed for photos.

A resident pelican

Representing the city on the core team were the Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development Department’s Nicholas Williams and Karis Griffin. Alan Briskin acted as the group’s facilitator. The Lake Merritt Institute’s James Robinson and former City of Oakland District 2 chief of staff Jennie Gerard – a proud Lake Merritt Weed Warrior – rounded out the team. Providing key input at many points along the way were the Community for Lake Merritt, the Rotary Nature Center Friends, the Oakland Museum and over 100 community members who shared their vision for the “new” center.

Left to right: Jennie Gerard, James Robinson, and C.J. Hirschfield

When the center abruptly closed nearly two years ago for deep cleaning and serious renovation, the community was concerned, to say the least. The Rotary Nature Center, which opened in 1953, resides on the grounds of the first state and national wildlife refuge in the United States (declared in 1869). Its public mission was “to bring nature and people together.”

After the center closed, more than 60 community members showed up on a very rainy night to share their stories and fears. There were scientists from UC Berkeley and Oaklanders of all ages who told how they’d been inspired to learn about and appreciate the rich ecology of their urban surroundings thanks to the programs offered by the center. “Will the beehive be back?” “Will there still be taxidermy animals?” and “Will there still be a naturalist running the Center?” were among the questions on people’s minds that night.

Rotary Nature Center naturalist Angelina Manno

The answer, I’m happy to report, is “yes” to all.

Following that night, we conducted meetings to learn what the community wanted in a nature center and to identify community partners who could offer programming. We found those partners in Cindy Margulis of Golden Gate Audubon, Damon Tigue with his “Bar Code the Lake” citizen science project, Katie Noonan and her STEAM programs for youth, Mona Afary with the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants, and the Insect Museum of California’s Eddie Dunbar and his Exploring Urban Park Biodiversity program.

Fairyland is proud to be a Lake Merritt neighbor of the reopened Rotary Nature Center, whose goals are complementary to ours. Although Fairyland is pushing 70, we remain relevant and vital: a place where early childhood literacy and imaginative play are celebrated. And the Rotary Nature Center – just three years younger than Fairyland – is once again a vibrant, welcoming place where we can find connection with the remarkable nature that surrounds us in our own community.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 17 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.