The City of Rolling Hills Estates is pleased to announce that it has been awarded $1.2 million from the California Department of Parks and Recreation to support the construction of a new Nature Center at George F Canyon. This was made possible by Senator Ben Allen who requested the funds through Governor Newsom’s signed Budget Act of 2022 (AB 179), which implements funding for key priorities throughout the state. “I am proud we were able to secure this crucial support for the Nature Center in Rolling Hills Estates and I am so excited about the education, preservation, and recreation opportunities that the new center will offer folks of all ages from the Hill and across the entire LA basin. This is such a great win for our community,” said Senator Allen, who chairs the Legislative Environmental Caucus and the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.
George F Canyon Preserve and Nature Center, located at the corner of Palos Verdes Drive North and Palos Verdes Drive East, is operated jointly by the City of Rolling Hills Estates and the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. The Nature Center provides educational and recreational opportunities to the greater community to learn and enjoy the natural beauty of George F Canyon. Inside the Center, exhibits focus on the local floral and fauna, including live animals to observe up close.
The Nature Center has been re-imagined from the existing 1,450 square feet facility including the outdoor deck, to a 3,290 facility to provide a welcoming gateway to the City with a new building that will offer enhanced educational opportunities as well as a community facility and outdoor education and viewing decks all with the purpose of promoting the canyon, trails and native habitat of the area. “Rolling Hills Estates has a strong partnership with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy in managing the more than 50-acre canyon and education center. We look forward to the enhanced programming a new Nature Center will offer the community to better connect with the natural habitat of the Palos Verdes Peninsula,” stated Mayor Frank Zerunyan. Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Executive Director, Adrienne Mohan shared, “we are pleased to partner with the City in the rebuilding of the Nature Center into a vibrant community resource that will cultivate appreciation for the Peninsula’s natural environment.”
Construction costs are estimated at approximately $2 million but will be confirmed when plans and specifications and interpretive education elements are finalized in the coming months. To date, the City has secured an additional $575,000 in other public fund sources, including voter approved Los Angeles County Measure A funds and from Parks and Water Bond Act of 2018 Proposition 68-per capita Program funds, and a contribution from the neighboring City of Rolling Hills in the amount of $179,108 from its unused allocation of Prop 68 funds. The City also has Park Facilities Fee funds available for the project, which are restricted for park, open space and recreational improvements.
Additional funds to support the project will be sought through donations to the City’s Pepper Tree Foundation, a non-profit established by the City in 1982, that supports City owned parks, trails, open space, and recreation facilities to make the community a better place to live, work, and play.
For individuals interested in making a tax- deductible donation, please contact Rolling Hills Estates Community Services Supervisor, Rosa Pinuelas at RosaP@rollinghillestatesca.gov or by calling 310-377-1577.
Visit www.RHE.city/NatureCenter to learn more about the project or www.RHE.city/PepperTree to learn about the City’s non-profit organization.