For Angelinos, it’s easy to think of “nature” as something we visit – whether its poppies blooming in Walker Canyon, tide pools along the coast, or Joshua Trees in the Mojave Desert – while overlooking what actually surrounds us, such as the lizard that crawls out of a San Fernando Valley garage, the strange-looking insect on a downtown sidewalk or the coyotes that roam so many L.A. neighborhoods.

But that’s all nature, too.

Because we are all a part of nature, we should appreciate what’s around us because this is critical to our own health and the health of our community. To this end, the following venues represent our picks of places where you can discover fascinating animal life near Woodland Hills because, after all, we see nature when we choose to observe it.

Wildlife Learning Center, located at 16027 Yarnell Street in Sylmar, is a zoological park nestled in an old olive garden grove in the San Fernando Valley where visitors can appreciate and learn about animals from around the world. The center was founded to provide public education in the life sciences, conservation, and our environment. It has dedicated itself to providing lifelong care to more than 100 displaced, rescued, and zoo-born wild animals that call this natural environment home. Tours, virtual school programs, and picnic safaris are also available at WLC, with advanced reservations required.

The Los Angeles Zoo, located at 5333 Zoo Drive in Los Angeles, nurtures wildlife while enriching the human experience. The facility itself creates an environment for recreation and discovery, inspiring and appreciating nature through exhibitory and education, ensuring the highest level of animal welfare, and supporting programs that preserve biodiversity and conserve natural habitat. The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens opened on November 28, 1966, and quickly became home to more than 2,200 mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles representing more than 270 different species – of which more than 58 are endangered. Further, the Zoo’s botanical collection comprises several planted gardens and over 800 plant species with approximately 7,000 individual plants. The L.A. Zoo resides in Griffith Park at the Golden State and Ventura’s Freeway intersection.

Montebello Barnyard Zoo, located at 600 Rea Drive in Montebello, offers pony rides, train rides, a petting zoo, picnic area, playground, kids birthday party areas, and a traveling zoo, making it a great location for the next school field trip. With hands-on learning experiences to get to know the many different types of animals here, each class field trip is entitled to one pony ride, one train ride, one merry-go-around, and one admission to the petting zoo. The Zoo is closed Monday and Tuesday but is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday/Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm (check with the facility to confirm if these are spring/summer or fall hours).

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, located at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive in San Pedro, invites you to discover the underwater world of Southern California through exhibits, education, research, conservation efforts, and more. With its spectacular natural setting adjacent to Cabrillo Beach Coastal Park and the Port of Los Angeles, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is uniquely suited to its leadership role in marine science education, aquaculture research, and community recreation. The historic Frank Gehry-designed aquarium displays the largest collection of SoCal marine life in the world, and since 1935 has provided visitors with both a natural and interactive approach to learning about the marine environment of Southern Cali. Aquarium hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 12 noon to 5 pm.

A “biodiversity hot spot” is a title with an important caveat: we can all do our part to make L.A. a friendlier place for wildlife. Take the time to discover fascinating animal life near Woodland Hills, these aforementioned venues around the city continues to help with the steps in making L.A a better place.