Photo by Lee Choo.
California State University, Northridge’s Orange Grove consists of a lot more than just orange trees. There’s the Orange Grove Bistro, a fine place to sit and enjoy lunch. The Orange Grove Botanical Pond is a great place to take an afternoon stroll.
The Orange Grove Botanical Pond is located in the southeast corner of the university among more than 400 orange trees. The site is modeled after a California seasonal wetland.
The welcoming retreat features a beautiful walkway, a 270-foot meandering stream, a natural spring well, dozens of red-eared slider turtles, koi and goldfish. There are a variety of colorful flowers including water lilies and water hyacinths.
The turtles are not a native species. The population was established when people began to leave pet turtles at the pond when they were no longer wanted.
During your lunch break, you can make the turtles feel wanted again by taking a scenic stroll around the Orange Grove Pond and stopping to feed them—in addition to feeding the ducks and fish.
“It’s nice to get out of the office and see a little slice of nature,” said Cal State Northridge Government and Community Relations assistant Susan Widelitz ’84 (Linguistics). “It’s always nice to get out and walk and be in nature.”
You can purchase koi fish feed, which is enjoyed by all the reptiles, vertebrae and birds, from a feeder for 25 cents. The feeder and pond are maintained by Physical Plant Management.
Within the next month, Physical Plant Management will be uprooting and replacing nearly half a dozen orange trees that have reached the end of their lifespan, according to PPM Grounds Manager Jim Logsdon.
For your safety and convenience, the pathways around the pond are wheelchair accessible and made out of “environmentally sensitive” decomposed granite.
The orange trees, pond and stream, and cute critters make the Orange Grove Botanical Pond a pleasant and relaxing way to spend a lunch.
Lunch Break is an occasional series about activities on campus faculty and staff can do during a one-hour timeframe to improve health and wellness.
—Lauren Glazer
