Youngsters explore habitat

The Whitney Mesa Nature Preserve sits in the middle of Green Valley as commuters on U.S. Highway 95 pass by, paying little or no attention.

If they were to scan the area, they might find pupils from White Middle School and Treem and Thorpe elementary schools taking advantage of the preserve, nestled in the canyons of Whitney Mesa in their schools' back yards. On a recent outing, pupils from Chuck Webb's fourth-grade class at Treem were treated to the preserve's landscape.

Led by Webb and Candace Thompson, the Clark County School District Southeast science coordinator, 35 children followed trails, examined rocks and peered through binoculars at a water fall caused by condensation from the Southern Nevada Vocation Trade Center high school's air conditioning system.

The area around the water is lush with shrubs and cat tails -- greenery the children aren't accustomed to seeing in the desert.

"As in anything in nature, when weather or people come in, landforms change. Lots of things have changed the mesa," Thompson told the students. "The next time you come out here, notice the things that have changed."

Webb walks the approximate half mile trail with his class at least twice a year to point out changes in the landscape and wildlife through the seasons. For this trip, his pupils were studying environmental and life science by looking for signs of life, such as water and vegetation.

"It's just now starting to turn green, because we haven't had a whole lot of rain," Webb said. "Once the weather gets colder, there may be more animals out."

Along the way, the children stopped to answer questions and log their observances in their notebooks.

Webb and Thompson, along with teachers and school district officials, wrote a curriculum guide to help teachers prepare their classes for the mesa and lead them through the canyons. The material, scheduled to be available in book and CD-ROM form to schools in November, also includes environmental, animal, geological and plant studies specific to the area.

"The curriculum was written for any teacher in the whole district," Webb said. "They can pick and choose whatever unit they want to do."

Some of Webb's pupils, like Jacob McClelland, enjoyed examining rocks on the hike, while some scanned the area for jackrabbits, pack rats and snakes. However, they all learned what it takes to survive in the desert -- lots of water.

"I like hiking and all that stuff," Cassaundra Cauwelt said. "It's fun. I also learned you get very thirsty out here."

Although the children may not realize it, the nature preserve is a unique "outdoor classroom" to have so close to school.

"(The mesa is) very rare in this part of the world," said John Duggan, CCSD project manager for the preserve. "Given the fact there's so much development, it's amazing we have it."