Fall is the Season for Outreach at the Las Vegas Wash

Fall in the Las Vegas Valley brings with it a welcome break from triple-digit temperatures and cooler weather that encourages many Southern Nevada residents to get re-acquainted with the outdoors. What better time of year than the fall to begin outreach activities at the Las Vegas Wash (Wash)? The Las Vegas Wash Project Coordination Team (Wash Team) chose this beautiful season to showcase all the Wash has to offer, from wildlife to watershed education. Activities will include tours, educational presentations on the shores of completed weirs, and outreach at area festivals.

This year’s activities will build upon the successes of the 2006 fall season with the participation of multiple schools. Students from J.T. McWilliams Elementary enjoyed half-day trips to Pabco Road Weir. The excited students learned about water quality, wildlife, and plant life from biologists and hydrologists on the Wash Team. Students were given a hands-on opportunity to work with binoculars, global positioning system (GPS) units, and plant life all while taking notes in their field notebooks.

Water quality is an important topic for citizens of Southern Nevada, and the Wash Team is committed to educating the area’s youngest residents on the importance of watershed preservation. At the Pabco Road Weir, a demonstration explained the methods used to measure sodium content, conductivity, and acidity in three types of water, Wash water, Lake Mead water and tap water. Students witnessed the use of a water probe and how data is transferred to make a graph on a laptop computer. The children also learned how they and their families may contribute to urban runoff, a major source of water in the Wash.

Later in the school year, students from Mabel Hoggard Math and Science Magnet School explored sights near and on Lake Mead. A wildlife and plant life station near the Bostick Weir offered an up-close look at birds, lizards, and different types of plants growing along the Wash. Students were dubbed biologists for a day and supplied with a backpack containing binoculars, a Las Vegas Wash Field Trip Notebook, gloves and a GPS device. Students used the GPS units to navigate to and from identified species of plants near the Bostick Weir.

On the shores of Lake Mead students were invited onboard the vessel Forever Earth, a result of grants through the Public Lands Institute at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Finally on board the Forever Earth, students donned lifejackets and were educated on boat safety before departing for a view of the Wash flowing into the lake. Divided into two groups, students participated in learning about water quality and the different organisms in the lake. Experts onboard this floating environmental laboratory encouraged interaction and questions from the students.

Before long it was time to return to shore and to Mabel Hoggard. Wash Team members drove the students back to their campus where the students received bags of give away items on arrival. No doubt the students thoroughly enjoyed the day’s experiences.

The 2007 fall season promises to be as interesting as previous outreach seasons, and due to the dynamic nature of the Wash, there will be new topics to explore. As the Wash Team gears up for another fun series of outreach activities, they hope the students look forward to it as much as they do.