For Irina Contreras, a program manager with Los Angeles County’s Department of Arts and Culture, outdoor education was a safe haven for her and her daughter during the pandemic. This refuge has now been jeopardized by the destructive wildfires sweeping through Los Angeles.
Contreras’s 7-year-old daughter, Ceiba, was part of a children’s adventure group known as Hawks and attended Matilija, a bilingual forest school for preschoolers and kindergartners. Regardless of rain or shine, she and her peers explored nature, engaging in activities like climbing, jumping, hiking, and swimming at sites such as Eaton Canyon Nature Area, which spans 190 acres near Altadena, and has now been ravaged by flames.
During her time there, Ceiba learned valuable skills, such as asking plants for permission before taking samples for her nature journal. One memorable occasion was when they stumbled upon a hidden path leading behind a waterfall, a discovery that Ceiba couldn’t stop sharing about for days.
The ramifications of the wildfires extend beyond the tragic loss of lives and thousands of homes; they represent a broader loss of natural and educational spaces that offered solace and learning opportunities for local families, particularly amid the challenges of the pandemic. These fires have devastated a variety of educational environments, affecting public and private schools, nature-focused preschools, homeschool collectives, summer camps, and beyond.
Several school buildings have also been destroyed, including Odyssey Charter School, which is attended by Miguel Ordeñana’s children. “The community has faced significant hardship due to the fires,” Ordeñana, a senior manager at the Natural History Museum, explained. “It’s been challenging to share this situation with my kids and support them emotionally. Many of their friends have lost their homes, and we can only speculate the impact on school staff, like their teachers, who likely have lost homes as well.”
Even areas that have remained untouched by fire have been rendered inaccessible due to poor air quality. Griffith Park, which houses the iconic Hollywood sign, had not been affected by the fires as of the week’s end, but it remains uncertain when conditions will allow outdoor programs to resume. Ordeñana, notably known for capturing the last images of a famous puma in the area, recognizes the ongoing challenges for families.
While Ordeñana’s family managed to gather with some Odyssey families for pizza and an indoor playdate, the uncertainty looms regarding school continuity, as closures have already been extended through the following Monday. In response to heavy smoke and ash throughout the city, all schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District—the second largest in the nation—closed their doors. Pasadena Unified School District also opted for closures, with several campuses suffering damages, including Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School.
The California Department of Education confirmed that 335 schools across Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, and San Diego counties were shut down, although it remains unclear how many will remain closed into the following week.
Reflecting on the pandemic, Contreras expressed feeling trapped by screens and devoted her energy to work-related tasks. However, her daughter’s experiences in outdoor education reinforced the significance of stepping away from indoor confines. Despite uncertainties about the safety of areas like Eaton Canyon, Contreras believes outdoor programs will eventually return.
“The nature center is gone,” Richard Smart, superintendent of Eaton Canyon Natural Area in Pasadena, commented. “The wildflowers and shrubs have disappeared.” The park was a popular destination for numerous school field trips, with Smart estimating that it welcomed over a thousand students annually.
“Educators appreciated it because it was free, local, and a safe space to experience wild nature,” he added. Only a few external walls of the Eaton Canyon Nature Center remain intact. Smart remarked on the loss, emphasizing the significant role the park played in the community. “For many local school districts, we truly were right in their backyard, and now that connection is no longer available, at least for the foreseeable future. Losing that is devastating; it’s hard to articulate.”
With fires continuing to affect the region, many parents and educators are likely grappling with where to take children for educational engagement, according to Lila Higgins, a senior manager at the Natural History Museum and the author of a field guide titled “Wild L.A.” As a certified forest therapy guide, Higgins asserts that spending time outdoors not only decreases heart rates and blood pressure but also helps children with attention deficit disorder find a sense of calm.
“For a child’s cognitive growth, connecting with nature is immensely important,” she commented. Outdoor environments facilitate relationship-building through animal interactions, spatial orientation via trails, and awareness of human impact on wildlife.
“Many of the sites affected are popular with homeschooling families and frequently serve as field trip destinations, particularly locations like Eaton Canyon,” stated Greg Pauly, co-author of “Wild L.A.” and director of the museum’s Urban Nature Research Center. “While it’s certain that people will keep engaging with these landscapes, it may take some time before these areas can again serve as field trip locations.”
He closed by highlighting the harsh reality for modern Southern California, remarking, “Fire frequently alters both landscapes and lives in strikingly brief periods.”
