By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Area children are going to be working hard to encourage immigrants to stop in the Moapa Valley area; well, certain immigrants anyway.
An upcoming community service project in Warm Springs is aiming to make the area more attractive to Monarch butterflies, a sensitive species rarely seen in southern Nevada.
The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Junior Master Gardeners (JMG) of Southern Nevada will be participating in a community service event on Saturday, May 7 at the Moapa Valley Wildlife Refuge and the Warm Springs Natural Area. Children of all ages and their parents are invited to meet at about 9:15 a.m. at the Wildlife Refuge located at 4240 Warm Springs Rd. where they will learn about endemic native species in that area; some of which are endangered or sensitive.
The students will then travel across the street to the Warm Springs Natural Area, owned by Southern Nevada Water Authority, where they will be planting native Milkweed to attract Monarch butterflies.
“We are hoping to attract more Monarch butterflies to this area,” said JMG coordinator Karyn Johnson. “The butterfly larvae need the Milkweed as their primary source of food. Having more of this plant will encourage the butterfly to reproduce here, lay their eggs here during their migration, and possibly make this a future landing spot for the species.”
The children will be planting Milkweed starts in the Natural Area. The starts were grown by the Cooperative Extension in a greenhouse environment from seeds collected locally and received from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Monarch Preservation Society, Johnson said.
Community service is part of the JMG program. Along with JMG students, their parents and siblings, community members are encouraged to participate. 4-H members and their families are also invited to attend as well as any other interested community members.
The event should wrap-up around 1 p.m. and families are welcome to bring a lunch for a picnic. Participants are also encouraged to wear close-toed shoes, a hat, sunscreen and to bring their own refillable (not disposable) drinking container.
Those interested in attending may email or call Karyn Johnson at 702-257-5523 (johnsonk@unce.unr.edu) for meet-up location/time.
