Kids to take part in lake exploring

Friday, Oct. 4, 2002 | 9:54 a.m.

A 70-foot houseboat was expected to leave the Callville Bay dock today on a voyage of discovery and education involving schoolchildren, local business people and scientific researchers.

It took two years of planning and preparation for the Forever Earth boat to float onto Lake Mead, said William Dickinson, National Park Service superintendent for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The project is designed to support and encourage environmental monitoring and study at Lake Mead to improve conditions and enhance understanding by schools groups, researchers and the public.

In addition to the houseboat donated by Forever Resorts, a park concessioner, another 15 private businesses contributed a total of $500,000 to launch the project, Dickinson said.

Forever Earth Resorts donated the boat to encourage environmental monitoring and study Lake Mead to protect its environment.

Along with the houseboat, a 46-foot barge and a personal watercraft with the latest nonpolluting engine will allow research into wildlife and water quality.

"People think that the desert is a place to bring nuclear waste," Outside Las Vegas Foundation Executive Director Alan O'Neill said. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that assists local conservation efforts.

"We are trying to encourage people to do more and more science out here," O'Neill said.

Since many residents have lived in Southern Nevada for 10 years or less, there is little sense of community or a sense of place, O'Neill said.

Part of Forever Earth's maiden voyage is bringing low-income schoolchildren to the lake for a hands-on experience with the environment. Students who have never seen a snowy egret or a fish because they live in a concrete urban world will have a chance to explore their environment, O'Neill said.

"People don't abuse the land because of malice, but out of ignorance," O'Neill said. That is why Outdoor Las Vegas is partners with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Desert Research Institute and the Clark County School District for the Wonderful Outdoor World program.

For seven hours the students will fish, hike, raft and explore water quality in Lake Mead.

If scientists can reach youngsters still in school, they will learn lessons on how to protect the fragile Southern Nevada environment, part of the Mojave Desert, O'Neill said.

By letting students collect samples from the water, the soils and the plants, connections may be made to the facts they learn in textbooks. "We have to show them the connections, show them a sense of place," O'Neill said. "We have to start someplace."