Get Outdoors Nevada

🔆Fun Fact Friday: Surviving the Summer Sun 🔆

It's no secret that the Mojave desert gets hot during the summer months. And while many of us can cool off in an air-conditioned room, sip some iced tea, or jump in a pool, Mojave wildlife don't have those luxuries. Instead, they've had to adapt ways to go without water and to handle that hot, blistering sun. Swipe through to see some of our favorite desert-adapted animals and their tried & true techniques.

Other spunky animals not mentioned in the post:
--Desert Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus eremicus) literally stay still to keep cool. They'll lay on beds made of flattened grass. So simple, yet so smart.
--Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) can burrow, obviously, but they'll most likely occupy an abandoned den instead. What is super fascinating is that they'll line their new home with animal waste to attract their favorite snack, dung beetles. Instead of expending energy to hunt, their prey comes to them--ingenious!
--Merriam's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys merriami) has no interest in water. Their kidneys are so highly efficient, that they get all the moisture they need from dried seeds. I bet you got thirsty just reading that.

Have these animals inspired you? Share your tips to beat the heat in the comments below!

📸PC: Dan Sedran (slide 4), Marc Adamus (slide 5).

Our June 26 Seed Cleaning Workshop, Planting for the Future with Gail & Dr. Robert Brandys, is officially FULL! There's still time to register for our July 10 workshop, Birds & Native Plants, presented by Red Rock Audubon. Join us to discover how native plants support local bird populations and help clean native seeds that will support our feathery friends!

🌼 Friday, 6/26 (9am to 11am) - Seed Cleaning Workshop - Planting for the Future by Gail & Dr. Robert Brandys (FULL)

🌼 Friday, 7/10 (7:15am to 9:15am) - Seed Cleaning Workshop - Birds & Native Plants by Red Rock Audubon

Interested in other native plant topics? Check out our other upcoming workshops through the link below.

Learn more and register at volunteer.getoutdoorsnevada.org

It’s Feature Friday! Thank you to all of our volunteer who joined Get Outdoors Nevada on 5/9 to help clean up The Great Unconformity and surrounding area. Together, with the help of our partners like Citizens for Active Management, we were able to remove enough trash to fill half of a 40 yard dumpster in just under two hours!

The Great Unconformity is an area located along East Lake Mead Blvd that hosts a variety of treasures. You’ve probably driven right past it! At the heart of it all is a unique geological formation that is missing over a billion years of history. The area is an asset to recreational, botanical, cultural, and geological history and opportunity. Unfortunately, this area suffers from frequent desert dumping and illegal activities.

How can you help? Join us at the next volunteer event and sign the petition below to help designate this area as a protected area. To sign the petition, visit https://eastlasvegasmonument.org/

Join us at our next event:
Friday, June 26 | 9am to 11am | Seed cleaning workshop with Gail Brandys
Learn more and register at volunteer.getoutdoorsnevada.org!

Fun Fact Friday: Dormant, Not Dead.

As we get into the hotter summer months, your garden may look like how you feel after spending too much time outside: sad & thirsty. But before you get to watering and/or yanking, first determine if your plants are "summer deciduous". These special plants place all their energy into their roots during moments of intense drought, ensuring that they can survive until the Fall, when temperatures drop & rains offer reprieve. So, while their leaves are dry, the plant is far from dead--it's just "sleeping". In fact, you might find a whole lot of "life" surrounding your summer decidious plants: birds snacking on seeds, spiders forming webs to catch food, or leaf-cutter bees claiming the hollow stems as home.

Some examples of summer deciduous plants are desert marigold, penstemons, sagebrushes, brittlebush, California buckwheat, sages, and desert willow.

Over-watering summer deciduous plants can lead to root rot, so be sure to adjust your watering schedule. And remember, native plants need much less water than non-native plants.

It's going to be a seedy summer (but like, in the best way possible)! Join us this summer for a special speaker and seed cleaning workshop series focused on Native Habitat knowledge. Join us for one or all of them!

Don’t miss the first one of the season:

🌱 Friday, 6/12 (9am to 11am) - Seed Cleaning Workshop - Plant Life Zones by Wolfkey Native Plant Nursery

Learn about the Mojave’s unique life zones and how native plants support healthy habitats followed by a hands-on seed cleaning activity!

Learn more and register at volunteer.getoutdoorsnevada.org

✨Feature Friday: Craig Ranch Regional Park✨

Now that it's warmer outside, we're dreaming of those cooler days spent tending to the gardens. Take a look at what our wonderful volunteers accomplished at Craig Ranch Regional Park last month. And if you're curious to see the garden first hand, visit 628 West Craig Rd, North Las Vegas, NV 89032. Our "little" habitat garden is located on the north side, just east of the Garden Farms of Nevada. Tag us if you visit!

✨Fun Fact Friday: The Great Desert Harvest ✨

Those iconic Mojave plants produce seeds that our wildlife depend on. Labeled granivores, animals that eat seeds not only get to live to see another day, but they contribute to the ecosystem by helping spread and germinate said seeds. There are many insects, rodents, and birds that rely on the great desert harvest. Which one is your favorite?

Join us for our last event of the Spring season at Lake Mead Parkway Trail! Thank you to the volunteers who joined us last weekend at the Great Unconformity cleanup!

Our last outdoor volunteer event of the season is here! Don’t miss the chance to join us:

📍 Saturday, 5/16 (8am to 10am) - Lake Mead Parkway Cleanup with the City of Henderson

Learn more and register at volunteer.getoutdoorsnevada.org!

Fun Fact Friday: Let It Go to Seed 🌱

As we near summer, the blooms on your plants might fade, leaving you with a less vibrant-looking garden. Before you rush off to find your pruners, consider leaving the drying stems and flowers as is. Once fully dried, you'll be gifted with seeds! These seeds are free and given that the plant it came from had grown in your yard, and in your soil, there is a near guarantee that another will succeed as well.

Be sure that seeds are dry when you start collection or you run the risk of things getting moldy. And stay tuned in the following weeks when we'll go over the many desert creatures that rely on seeds to survive the Mojave.