By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
Grant Bowler Elementary 5th graders took a field trip to Red Rock National Conservation Area last week. The classes were bused to the Red Rock visitor’s center where they were met by park rangers who directed them to a popular part of the area called Calico Hills.
The classes were then divided, each with their own ranger guide, and taken on a hike with frequent stops for lessons in map reading. Park rangers taught the kids about different kinds of maps and what the uses were for each one. They showed them how to read maps that were particularly useful for outdoor activities such as trail maps and contour maps.
Students were able to learn about the area. They learned to identify scrub oak trees by looking for acorns. They also saw agave plants and other native plants, in addition to various wildlife.
One of the areas of most interest was an ancient agave fire pit used by some of the first occupants of the area. Ranger Mindy Grabko showed students how to identify rocks that had been heated by their color and how to identify a fire pit by its shape. She explained how ancient people dug these pits and put their meat and other food in them, and then cover the pits with agave and let them cook all day.
“My favorite part of the whole trip was climbing on the rocks and learning about the plants,” said student Hannah Dupee.
Megan Moyer’s 5th grade class hiked in an area called Sandstone Quarry. Ranger Mindy showed the kids giant sandstone blocks that had been originally quarried by the Excelsior mining company back in the early 1900’s and then abandoned when the mining company could not find an economically feasible way to remove the blocks.
Some of the blocks had graffiti on them, providing an opportunity to teach the kids the “Leave No Trace” motto of the park.
“I really liked hiking around and learning about not jumping, littering, digging, or doing graffiti,” said student Chase Smith.
Bowler teacher Megan Moyer was pleased with what the kids learned and how they enjoyed the trip.
“This is an outdoor classroom that reinforces what we’ve taught them at school, such as map reading, while showing them real world applications,” Moyer said.
