Volunteer event returns to Wash
After COVID-19 mandates forced the Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee (LVWCC) to cancel both scheduled Green-Up events in 2020, nearly 140 volunteers finally came together May 1 to participate in the 36th Las Vegas Wash Green-Up.
Volunteers working in two separate groups observed social-distancing protocols and wore face coverings as they planted more than 2,000 shrubs and grasses, including globemallow, brittlebrush, desert marigold, and alkali sacaton across a 9-acre section of the Wash.
Wash Green-Ups improve water quality by helping stabilize the Wash channel to reduce sediment loads to Lake Mead, while providing outreach activities to inform and educate the community and encourage local stewardship. Over the life of Green-Up events, thousands of volunteers have revegetated more than 300 acres along the Wash with more than 14,000 native trees and shrubs. These plantings further anchor the channel banks against erosion, increase wildlife habitat, and enhance the scenic beauty of the Wash and the Clark County Wetlands Park.
The LVWCC, a 28-member stakeholder group charged with the stabilization and enhancement of the Wash, conducts Green-Ups each spring and fall through generous grant funding from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to environmental benefits, the LVWCC sponsors Green-Up events to increase community ownership in the Wash as a valuable resource to be protected and preserved for future generations.
