July 22, 2026 

 

The California Native Horticultural Foundation (Cal Native Hort) is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Environmental Nature Center (ENC) that establishes Cal Native Hort’s headquarters at ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon. This partnership gives Cal Native Hort a permanent home for its growing work in native plant horticulture and marks a significant step in the organization’s development as California’s trustworthy source for native plant education, propagation, and research.

 

Under a formal agreement with ENC, Cal Native Hort will occupy dedicated office and nursery space at ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, a 12-acre preserve known for its riparian habitat and long history of environmental education in Orange County. The site gives Cal Native Hort a physical base for the first time, supporting its mission to foster transformative connections between people, place, and nature through native horticulture.

 

“This partnership is about more than shared space,” said Mike Evans, Cal Native Hort President & Founder. “Tucker is exactly the kind of place where our work belongs: a living landscape where people can see, touch, and learn from California’s native plants firsthand. ENC has spent decades building something rare here, and we’re honored to become part of the stewardship of this land.”

 

The arrangement reflects a natural alignment between the two organizations. ENC’s mission to inspire environmental stewardship through hands-on nature education complements Cal Native Hort’s focus on native plant horticulture as a tool for ecological restoration and community connection. Housing Cal Native Hort at Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary allows both organizations to expand their reach while strengthening a shared commitment to Southern California’s landscapes.

 

“Establishing our headquarters at ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary gives CNHF the opportunity to build not only a nursery, but a community centered around native plants, education, and stewardship,” said Michelle Matthews, Executive Director of the California Native Horticultural Foundation. “We believe this partnership can serve as a model for future collaborations that connect people, place, and nature through native horticulture.”

 

“The history of this place makes the partnership especially meaningful,” said Bo Glover, President & CEO of the Environmental Nature Center. “ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary occupies land that was once part of Helena Modjeska’s estate, where Theodore Payne served as her gardener in the 1890s and developed the passion for California native plants that would shape his life’s work. More than a century later, native plant propagation and education are returning to the same canyon landscape that helped inspire California’s native plant movement.”

 

For Cal Native Hort, the new headquarters arrives at a pivotal moment. Following the closure of Tree of Life Nursery, long recognized as the largest native plant nursery in California, Cal Native Hort has stepped forward as a home for the community, knowledge, and relationships that Tree of Life built over more than 45 years. A permanent base at ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary gives that legacy a place to take root.

 

The new headquarters will support several of Cal Native Hort’s initiatives, including its native plant nursery network program, and its ongoing educational programming for plant enthusiasts, gardeners, landscapers, and land managers across the region. 

 

Visitors to ENC Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary will increasingly encounter Cal Native Hort’s presence on-site, from propagation beds to workshops and community events, also held at the ENC location in Newport Beach.

 

Cal Native Hort and ENC will formally welcome members, partners, and the public to the new headquarters through upcoming events at the sanctuary, Additional details on programming and public access will follow in the coming months.

 

About the California Native Horticultural Foundation

Cal Native Hort is a 501(c)(3) to foster transformative connections between people, place, and nature through native horticulture. Founded by Mike Evans, founder of Tree of Life Nursery, Cal Native Hort works to make native plants the preferred landscape choice across California, connecting people to place and to one another through the practice of native horticulture. For more information visit calnativehort.org 

 

About the Environmental Nature Center

Founded in 1972, the Environmental Nature Center (ENC) is a world class facility that provides transformative experiences through connection with nature. Our vision is to provide equitable access and inspire all to protect the natural world by serving as our community’s leader in ecological responsibility, sustainable practices, and environmental education. The ENC connects over 50,000 community members to nature annually through school field trips, Traveling Naturalist programs, community programs, nature camps, service-learning programs, and professional development programs.

 

 

The ENC’s 5-acre Newport Beach campus features 15 California native plant communities, wildlife habitat, walking trails, and sustainably designed construction. The ENC Nature Preschool serves as a model nature preschool providing a research forum on nature-based early childhood education. The ENC’s 12-acre Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon includes a natural history museum, trails, and bird observation deck. The ENC’s LEED Platinum certified facilities in Newport Beach are nationally recognized and provide an essential connection between nature and the built environment. The entire Newport Beach campus was awarded TRUE Platinum Certification by Green Business Certification Inc. in acknowledgement of our ongoing waste reduction and elimination efforts. The ENC is a non-profit 501(c)-3 public benefit corporation.  For more information call 949-645-8489 or visit www.ENCenter.org