Last week I spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new La Puente Nature Center which will be located next to Nelson Elementary school in La Puente. This park has been a long time coming; discussions began back in 2003. The City of La Puente purchased the land from HLPUSD after receiving monies from the Conservation Corps and through Congresswoman Napolitano’s efforts. I’m looking forward to having this portion of La Puente beautified through our joint efforts! Tribune story below:
LA PUENTE – The city will soon welcome its first new park since incorporating more than 50 years ago, only the second park in the entire city.Utilizing a small pocket of green space near Nelson Elementary School, the park will double as an educational nature center.
The La Puente City Council this week broke ground on the long-discussed Puente Creek Nature Education Center, a 1-acre triangular lot between Nelson Elementary School and Puente Creek Flood Control Channel at 14951 Nelson Ave.
“This is a great new venture,” Mayor John Solis said.
In the works since 2003, the project will tranform an undeveloped lot into a nature center that will focus on promoting water quality and environmental issues.
The center will feature native plants, nature trails, exhibits, landscaping, a reproduction of a wetland and interpretive educational displays geared toward nature lovers and area students.
“It’s taken quite a while, but good things take a while,” Councilman Dan Holloway said. “The good thing about this is that it’s a cooperative effort between the city and the school district. It’s a little something different and new for the city.”
Construction on the $1.3 million venture has been delayed because of funding issues and to finalize partnerships with the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District, San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the California Conservation Corps and funding assistance from Congresswoman Grace Napolitano.
Finally, the city has been awarded a series of grants from the partner organizations to purchase the vacant lot and fully fund the nature center’s design, construction and maintenance training, according to city officials.
“This project has been a long time coming,” Hacienda La Puente board member Jay Chen said. “A lot of projects go through their hurdles, but we’ve overcome a lot of hurdles. I hope it’s a huge success and we can do more.”
The city plans on working with the school district to create an outdoor classroom facility and docent-led tours for students on field trips.
Aside from the educational component the park will have, it will also add extra green space to the city.
La Puente currently only has one park – the 22-acre La Puente Park at 501 Glendora Ave. – to serve the more than 40,000 residents living within the city’s 3.5-square-mile radius.
The new facility will mark the second park once it is completed, expected by February 2012.
“This center will be the source and pride of the community’s growth in La Puente,” Solis said.
juliette.funes@sgvn.com
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