The Children’s Forest at Oak Glen Preserve
Sara Seburn
Marketing and Communications Director
The Wildlands Conservancy
When The Wildlands Conservancy saved historic Los Rios Rancho-from development in 1996, we envisioned creating a special place where people could connect with each other and nature in a meaningful way. Today, Oak Glen Preserve, home of the Southern California Montane Botanic Garden and Children’s Outdoor Discovery Center, is that vision come to life. Each year hundreds of thousands of visitors walk the trails through more than a dozen botanic garden venues, each representing a unique native habitat, and each providing an engaging interpretive experience for kids of all ages.
The newest venue to the Botanic Garden and Children’s Outdoor Discovery Center is the Children’s Forest. In 2003, when the nearly 600 sequoias, cedars, and redwoods were planted across seven acres of the Preserve as 10-inch seedlings. The forest has thrived for nearly 20 years and now the collective canopy has risen to almost 60 feet, creating a thrilling space for children to explore, discover, and learn. Thanks to a generous donor, the Children’s Forest’s rock-lined trails, will be dotted with exciting displays interpreting the wildlife of Oak Glen Preserve and a camping exhibit to inspire first-time campers to pitch a tent at one of Wildlands’ free campgrounds. More interactive learning opportunities will be added as the forest continues to grow, providing a perfect venue for the curiosity of youth.
Sequoia seedlings planted in 2003.
The Children’s Forest in 2021.