Celebrate Earth Day at Red Rock

By Jeff Pope

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 | 2:09 p.m.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area will recognize Earth Day with a free event on Saturday that will put a focus on eco-friendly living.

The gathering at the Red Spring Picnic Area in Calico Basin will include environmental tips on how to adopt a more Earth-friendly lifestyle, interactive children’s activities, interpretive hikes, Dutch oven cooking demonstrations, fire safety tips and appearances by Mojave Max, a desert tortoise, and Summerlin Sam, the planned community’s mascot.

The event — which comes a few days after today’s official recognition of Earth Day — runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is hosted by Friends of Red Rock Canyon and the Bureau of Land Management. It is sponsored by The Howard Hughes Corp. and the Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association.

Pat Williams, president of Friends of Red Rock Canyon, said the conservation area is an urban park were people can have fun in the desert environment.

“Earth Day is a great focal point for what we do at Red Rock Canyon. We try to conserve and preserve every day out here,” she said.

Summerlin was the first major community to extensively employ low water-use landscaping and is credited with helping change the once-negative perception of desert landscaping, said Tom Warden, vice president of community and government relations for The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin.

“Summerlin was also the first to use low-light-pollution street lighting, natural drainage preservation and is committed to smart and sustainable growth via a land plan that creates and maintains an environment where residents can live, work, shop and play all within their own community,” Warden said.

Other participants include BLM Fire, the Public Lands Institute, Dutch Oven Society of Nevada and UNLV Sierra Student Coalition.