Jamie Searles - An Awesome ENC Junior Naturalist Gives Back

Jamison "Jamie" Searles began visiting the Environmental Nature Center (ENC) as a camper when she was in elementary school. Those fond memories and experiences made a huge impact on her.  Now, as a high schooler, Jamie has been an ENC Junior Naturalist for more than three years.  She donates her time to help further the ENC's mission of providing quality education through hands-on experience with nature.

Jamie recently completed another community service project, which she named "Fantastic Plastic," involving the recycling of used plastic bottles.

Over a period of three months, Jamie collected and recycled various used plastic bottles from friends, neighbors, and fellow students. She used the proceeds from that recycling to benefit her mission of serving the community. Most recently, she reached out to the ENC to assist with the purchasing of supplies for our Summer Nature Camp Program.

Through Jamie's "Fantastic Plastic" program, she was able to raise enough money to purchase 6 new musical instruments, 12 safety-scissors, 4 preschool nature books, 12 boxes of triangle-crayons and a fun ladybug play tent!  Jamie has also made contributions to other organizations: the donation of a check to The Red Cross, the purchasing of school supplies for Girls Inc., the purchasing of turkeys on Thanksgiving for the Soup Kitchen, and the purchasing of backpacks for students at the Mapalo Village School in Zambia.

The ENC would like to thank and congratulate Jamie on her tremendous contributions to the community. It is due to efforts like these that the ENC will continue to provide quality education through hands-on experience with nature for many years to come.

Green Tie Affair - Art Exhibit Featured Artists - Cheryl Ekstrom

The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) will be hosting its Green Tie Affair in celebration of its 40th Anniversary. The art exhibit for the event will start May 21 and will conclude on June 2, the evening of the event. Many talented local artists will have their works on display.

CHERYL EKSTROM

View Cheryl's art here: http://cherylekstrom.com/

Green Tie Affair - Art Exhibit Featured Artists - Wally Pacholka

The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) will be hosting its Green Tie Affair in celebration of its 40th Anniversary. The art exhibit for the event will start May 21 and will conclude on June 2, the evening of the event. Many talented local artists will have their works on display.

Wally Pacholka

Wally Pacholka was an accountant by day, but it's his moonlighting "job" where he's always shined. He's aglow in winning national awards for his pictures, lofty kudos for being in the right place in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night.

Pacholka shoots celestial events — comets, close visits by other planets, meteor showers and the occasional Milky Way cluster — with our national parks and other down-to-earth scenery gracing the foregrounds of his frames.

Ventura County Star Not exactly an original pursuit to anyone who recalls the 1960 Ansel Adams masterpiece "Moon and Half Dome," but the freelance astrophotographer does it well, too. Pacholka is a three-time "Picture of the Year" winner for Time and Life magazines' end-of-year photograph editions. Both magazines honored him in 2003 for shots he took when Mars made its closest pass to Earth in almost 60,000 years, and Time also tabbed him in 1997 for a picture he took of Comet Hale-Bopp above Joshua Tree National Park.

National Geographic also has used several of his shots, and NASA has shown more than two dozen of his images, including 22 of them as the "Astronomy Picture of the Day" on its Web site.

The 57-year-old Long Beach resident left accounting three years ago and now focuses full time on his passion — sayonara book ledgers and hello rocky ledges, the kind on which he can mount his camera tripod and await the majesty of the heavens.

View Wally's art here: http://www.astropics.com/

Green Tie Affair - Art Exhibit Featured Artists - Sama Wareh

The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) will be hosting its Green Tie Affair in celebration of its 40th Anniversary. The art exhibit for the event will start May 21 and will conclude on June 2, the evening of the event. Many talented local artists will have their works on display.

SAMA WAREH 

Sama Wareh has a Masters of Science degree in Environmental Education and Communication from California State University Fullerton and a Bachelors Degree in Filmmaking and Art. During her seven years in the Environmental Education field, Sama has led hundreds of hikes, designed curriculum for hands-on environmental education programs, and has taught Art, Social Science, and Physical Science to Adults, Scouts, Students, Teachers, and the general public. She has been invited as a guest lecturer and workshop presenter at many Universities, Churches, and Institutes, where she focuses on Conservation, Water Issues, and Seeing Nature through Art.

Sama has participated in art shows all over the country, including the Bowers Museum, the Zeitgeist Multicultural Institute in New Orleans, has illustrated children’s books, and has sold art internationally for over ten years. Moved and constantly in awe of Nature, Sama's thirst for knowledge and getting acquainted with Nature, from the tiniest leaf to the jaguars of South America, is never ending, adding a constant stream of inspiration to her art.

View Sama's art here: www.warehart.com 

Green Tie Affair - Art Exhibit Featured Artists - Paul Marto

The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) will be hosting its Green Tie Affair in celebration of its 40th Anniversary. The art exhibit for the event will start May 21 and will conclude on June 2, the evening of the event. Many talented local artists will have their works on display.

PAUL MARTO 

Paul has been passionate about photography since the early 80's. Nature, wildlife and action shots are his favorites. He loves the challenge that arises from the unpredictability of his subjects when he is trying to capture the perfect wildlife moment. He is a native of California and has spent the last 28 years in Orange County. Mr. Marto grew up in Carmel Valley, so it is no surprise that he gravitated towards wildlife photography. Mountain bike riding, hiking, tennis and playing the electric guitar round out the list of pursuits for this UC San Diego graduate. He has a beautiful wife and two adorable children. 

Paul’s work has recently been highlighted by National Geographic, The O.C. Register, Irvine World News, WildlifePhotographyNews.net, Irvine Valley College and Photo of the Day.com. He is a recent winner in the City of Irvine 40th Anniversary Photo Contest. Juried into a number of organizations including LagunaArt.com, AmericaFineArt.org, Artists of America, Gallery 104, RAWArtists.org and TurningArt.com. He is active within the Irvine Unified School District and gives presentations on wildlife photography.

View Paul's art here: http://martophotography.artistwebsites.com/index.html

Green Tie Affair - Art Exhibit Featured Artists - Haleh Mashian

The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) will be hosting its Green Tie Affair in celebration of its 40th Anniversary. The art exhibit for the event will start May 21 and will conclude on June 2, the evening of the event. Many talented local artists will have their works on display.

HALEH MASHIAN

For over 17 years, the paintings of Santa Monica artist Haleh Mashian have colorfully illustrated her whimsical and astute view of the world. Both real and imagined. With layer upon layer of acrylic paint continually applied, scraped off and reapplied, her paintings reveal richly colored stratum of expressivity.

View Haleh's art here: http://halehstudio.com/

Green Tie Affair - Art Exhibit Featured Artists - Kristin Fritz

The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) will be hosting its Green Tie Affair in celebration of its 40th Anniversary. The art exhibit for the event will start May 21 and will conclude on June 2, the evening of the event. Many talented local artists will have their works on display.

KRISTIN FRITZ

Brown paper grocery bags are collaged onto canvas, transforming trash to treasure in Kristin Fritz's current body of work. Her eco artworks are meditations in balance, relationship, choice and perception. Making something from nothing, Fritz seeks to present the familiar in an unfamiliar way. She draws inspiration from Eastern philosophy, quantum physics, and the ever-changing landscape of light and dark within.

View Kristin's art here: http://kristin.fritz.30art.com/