El Dorado Nature Center

Southern Californians have long lamented the destruction of the natural world caused by freeway construction, but in one community, freeway building resulted in the formation of a unique nature center. In the mid-1960s, during construction of the San Gabriel River/San Diego freeway interchange, earthmovers were moving millions of cubic yards of earth.

With a drizzle threatening, the light is poor for spotting hummingbirds and black phoebes. But bird-watcher Dan Springer is out here anyway, searching the woods. Binoculars hang at his neck. He climbs the trail through a cluster of pine and cedar and veers into a small clearing. "Last year we had a pair of great horned owls nest in here," Springer says, reaching into a fanny pack for "Birds of North America," a fat volume heavily highlighted and indexed with plastic tabs.

Somewhat eccentric, as befits a wildlife refuge smack in the middle of "Iowa by the Sea," the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach is an oasis surrounded by suburbia, freeways and the San Gabriel River. Its almost 85 acres contain two lakes, a stream, three miles of trails, an eclectic mix of plants from around the world, plenty of birds and animals and a small museum. What you see after passing through the refuge gates makes you feel a long way from city center although, unfortunately, you never quite get away from the sound of traffic.

A stretch of the San Gabriel River that flows along the eastern edge of Long Beach is a lot cleaner now, thanks to more than 100 volunteers who participated in the second annual "Rollin' Down the River" program. Armed with rubber gloves and trash sacks, they picked up man-made debris along the channel as part of an Earth Day observance sponsored by the El Dorado Nature Center.

A stretch of the San Gabriel River that flows along the eastern edge of Long Beach is a lot cleaner now, thanks to more than 100 volunteers who participated in the second annual "Rollin' Down the River" program. Armed with rubber gloves and trash sacks, they picked up man-made debris along the channel as part of an Earth Day observance sponsored by the El Dorado Nature Center.

With a drizzle threatening, the light is poor for spotting hummingbirds and black phoebes. But bird-watcher Dan Springer is out here anyway, searching the woods. Binoculars hang at his neck. He climbs the trail through a cluster of pine and cedar and veers into a small clearing. "Last year we had a pair of great horned owls nest in here," Springer says, reaching into a fanny pack for "Birds of North America," a fat volume heavily highlighted and indexed with plastic tabs.

Many part-timers are facing a double whammy from President Obama's Affordable Care Act. The law requires large employers offering health insurance to include part-time employees working 30 hours a week or more. But rather than provide healthcare to more workers, a growing number of employers are cutting back employee hours instead. The result: Not only will these workers earn less money, but they'll also miss out on health insurance at work. LIVE CHAT: Join us at 3 p.m. Pacific with your questions and comments Consider the city of Long Beach.

El Dorado Nature Center is seeking volunteers to take museum kits to schools in Orange County and teach children about Native American culture. Volunteers will receive 20 hours of instruction in the history, culture and economy of the Chumash and Tongva people who lived in Southern California before the first European settlers. The Acorns, Sea & Sage Moveable Museum kits to be delivered to schools include replicas of artifacts made and used by Native Americans.

Two lakes at the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach will soon be off-limits to fishermen under a new city ordinance, although fishing will still be allowed at two stocked lakes in El Dorado East Regional Park. The City Council is banning fishing at the request of Department of Parks and Recreation officials, who say fishermen are depleting the fish stock of the nature center and littering its lakes with fish lines and discarded trash.

The El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach hosts a nighttime nature walk for children age 7 and up. Learn constellations. 7-9 p.m. (562) 570-1745. ART Artists get creative with the dollar bill in "On the Money: Art & Commerce." At Santa Monica's Sherry Frumkin Gallery. (310) 453-1850. MUSIC A few of L.A.'s finest men in blue trade in their guns for guitars and rock out as Bent. Tonight at Goldfingers, Hollywood. (323) 962-2913.

Southern Californians have long lamented the destruction of the natural world caused by freeway construction, but in one community, freeway building resulted in the formation of a unique nature center. In the mid-1960s, during construction of the San Gabriel River/San Diego freeway interchange, earthmovers were moving millions of cubic yards of earth.

Somewhat eccentric, as befits a wildlife refuge smack in the middle of "Iowa by the Sea," the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach is an oasis surrounded by suburbia, freeways and the San Gabriel River. Its almost 85 acres contain two lakes, a stream, three miles of trails, an eclectic mix of plants from around the world, plenty of birds and animals and a small museum. What you see after passing through the refuge gates makes you feel a long way from city center although, unfortunately, you never quite get away from the sound of traffic.

Saturday: Bus trip to the Getty Center, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m., departing from the Arboretum of Los Angeles County, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. $22; reservations required by calling (626) 447-8207. Saturday: Class on composting, 9 a.m.-noon, at El Dorado Nature Center, 7550 E. Spring St., Long Beach, (562) 570-1745. Free. Saturday and Nov. 1: Show by the Glendale Chrysanthemum Society, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., at Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Can~ada Flintridge, (818) 952-4401.

Hikers found the body of a 26-year-old Bellflower woman on Thanksgiving in El Dorado Park, authorities said. Melissa Morton's fully clothed body had no obvious signs of foul play when it was found just south of the El Dorado Park Nature Center about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, said Lt. Josef Levy. An autopsy is pending. Anyone with information may call Long Beach detectives at (562) 570-7244.