Southern California’s four national forests (Los Padres, Angeles, San Bernardino, and Cleveland) boast some of the nation’s most popular places to hike, camp, picnic, fish and hunt, bird-watch, rock-climb, mountain bike, horseback ride, stargaze, and indulge in a host of other nature-based activities.

These are known as Mediterranean forests.  Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub ecoregions are characterized by hot and dry summers, while winters tend to be cool and moist.

Most precipitation arrives during these months. To incorporate this type of woodland into our theme, we created an artificial environment of these trees.

When children create an artificial environment, they bring three-dimensional reality to any concept.

Though your little ones are aware of what a forest is, they may not fully comprehend what they look like, how they support life, and how important they are to our planet.

To help our budding arborists connect to this idea, we decided to create our very own mediterrean forest!