What

Two UNLV undergraduate biology students have gathered about 15 volunteers for a restoration project along the Las Vegas Wash, near the Lake Mead shoreline.

When

Saturday, Jan. 21 & Sunday, Jan. 22 at 9 a.m. 

Where

Lake Mead National Recreation Area
(Volunteers will meet at the decommissioned boat ramp, just north of the Las Vegas Bay Ranger Station and just northeast of the Henderson entrance to the park off Lakeshore Road. Map)

Details

Students and citizen volunteers from UNLV, the National Park Service, the Nevada Naturalist adult environmental education program, and the California Fire Science Consortium will collaborate this weekend on a community cleanup aimed at restoring flora and fauna at Lake Mead.

Participants will sow several species of plants and trees along the Las Vegas Wash, a 12-mile urban river that routes excess stormwater and other runoff from around valley into Lake Mead. 

The goal is to establish native plants for wildlife habitat and watershed protection on the now-exposed shoreline amid concerns about dropping lake levels. Student researchers also hope the plants attract pollinators (for example: birds, bees, bats, etc.) — a phenomenon that has gained international attention as scientists and governments trumpet their importance in growing food for an ever-increasing human population.

Following the weekend planting party, UNLV students will return to the area throughout the Spring 2017 semester and beyond to monitor wildlife utilization of the new habitat.

Media

Student organizers, volunteers, and UNLV ecology professor Scott Abella will be available for interviews.

Media interested in attending should contact Keyonna Summers, UNLV media relations specialist, at keyonna.summers@unlv.edu or (702) 349-9509 for location and organizer contact details.