By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
A group of Moapa Valley school kids got to celebrate a little-known holiday last week.
The fifth grade classes at Grant Bowler Elementary School took a trip to the Warm Springs Natural Area on Tuesday, Feb. 13 in celebration of World Wetlands Day 2024. The students were hosted in an array of activities by biologists and other staff of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, a regional water purveyor which owns the 1,250 acre oasis property in Moapa.
World Wetlands Day is observed each February to celebrate the importance of natural wetland areas to the Earth’s ecosystem.
Upon arriving at the Natural Area, the students were divided into three different groups which rotated through a number of activities.
In a large greenhouse, students got to show their greenthumb abilities. First, they planted seeds for the native Desert Saltbush into small growing cups. Next, they were instructed by SNWA Biologist Von Winkle on how to transplant a sapling Velvet Ash tree into a larger one-gallon container.
“The Velvet Ash is one of five native species of tree in this valley here,” Winkle told the students. “It is a very important tree for a lot of bird species as well as other wildlife – especially the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher which really likes to make its nests in these trees.”
Winkle said that the Velvet Ash grows to 25-30 feet tall and is found next to springs and marshes. “They really like to keep their feet wet,” he said.
The small and delicate sprigs of the tree presented to the children for transplant would grow quickly in their new 1 gallon pots, Winkle said. They will later be transplanted in even larger pots; and eventually placed directly into the wetland habitat at Warm Springs.
In a shop building, SNWA Biologist David Syzdek was doing a presentation about the area’s natural reptile population. On display were different varieties of snakes, lizards and other reptile species.
Each of the students were invited to come forward and interact with a live gopher snake which Syzdek was holding in his hands.
Though most of the kids had admitted to being a little wary of snakes, all of them took the opportunity to come up and take a closer look.
In another part of the shop building, kids were learning about the birds of the area. They even had the opportunity to pick up a pair of binoculars and try to do a little birdwatching of their own.
After these activities, the students were transported to the nearby Moapa Valley National Wildlife Area where they were fed lunch.
The kids spent some time wandering around the natural springs habitat of the endangered Moapa dace. They were also able to look into a viewing chamber where they could observe the dace swimming in its habitat.
