RETURNING TO ROOST PARKS VETERAN BACK AT PLACERITA CANYON NATURE CENTER.Byline: Judy O'Rourke Staff Writer NEWHALL - The man who was wed under an oak tree at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center and reluctantly left his job there four years ago to take a promotion is back. Frank Hoffman, who multitasks even in his quietest moments, has been named the recreation supervisor at the park as of Jan. 2. ``Frank is the absolute life behind Placerita,'' said Ian Swift, the center's supervisor, who is in line to become superintendent. ``He is our one-man marketing machine. Frank is 150,000 percent enthusiastic about Placerita and our programs here.'' Hoffman is in charge of the park's programs, activities and events. He will also serve as education director and plans to collaborate with the Sierra Club Sierra Club, national organization in the United States dedicated to the preservation and expansion of the world's parks, wildlife, and wilderness areas. Founded (1892) in California by a group led by the Scottish-American conservationist John Muir, the Sierra Club and the California Wild Project to create a hiking club whose volunteers will lead guided interpretive nature hikes and walks in Placerita Canyon in the Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los . The return to Placerita was lateral, but Hoffman's affection for the park makes the point moot. ``This is his true home,'' said Swift. ``This is where he belongs.'' In his four-plus years away, Hoffman, 46, worked at county parks in Quartz Hill and Val Verde. He also trains county staff, volunteers and docents in leadership and customer service skills and on how to avoid potentially dangerous plants and animals Plants and Animals are a Canadian indie-rock band from Montreal, comprised of guitarist-vocalists Warren Spicer and Nic Basque, and drummer-vocalist Matthew Woodley.[1] They are signed to Secret City Records. . ``They're only dangerous if you mess with them,'' Hoffman quipped. His lifelong love of nature is a perfect fit for his midlife mid·life n. See middle age. adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of middle age. career change. The late-blooming naturalist had toiled for 16 years as a banker, real estate loan officer and appraiser A person selected or appointed by a competent authority or an interested party to evaluate the financial worth of property. Appraisers are frequently appointed in probate and condemnation proceedings and are also used by banks and real estate concerns to determine the market before the housing market's downturn in the late 1980s. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , he credits his mom with opening his eyes to nature. The Valley's orange groves, fields and farms teemed with possibilities. ``Instead of Mom raising me with pinball and TV, she took me to Pierce College to show me farm animals, she would take me to the Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo founded in 1966, is a large zoo located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Zoo, located in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, is home to 1,200 animals from around the world. , and to parks to teach me about animals. As a young boy, I would bring (home) everything loose I could find.'' Mary Hoffman, Frank's wife of six years, is the recreation service leader at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area. The couple's Canyon Country menagerie includes dogs, cats, snakes, tortoises, birds and two saltwater aquariums. Hoffman owns a hunting hawk and is a member of the largest state falconry falconry (fôl`kənrē, fô`–, făl`–), sport of hunting birds or small animals with falcons or other types of hawks; eagles are used in some parts of the world. club in the country, the California Hawking Club. The nature center will host its 27th annual reptile festival on March 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The center is at 19152 Placerita Canyon Road. For information call 259-7721. Judy O'Rourke, (661) 257-5255 judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) OJ, a great horned owl great horned owl Horned owl species (Bubo virginianus) that ranges from Arctic tree limits south to the Strait of Magellan. A powerful, mottled-brown predator, it is often more than 2 ft (60 cm) long, with a wingspan often approaching 80 in. (200 cm). , checks out students Thursday at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, which is hosting its 27th annual reptile festival March 18. (2) Saugus High students Jennifer Gibson, 17, and Carly Miller, 16, watch as the center's Ian Swift displays a snake. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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