Monday, August 3, 2009

A Grand Gesture

My apologies for the long wait for this post. I know many of you have called me looking for the next Rave… I spent most of the week vacationing in Arizona. Among my travels I visited the Grand Canyon. Those of you who have visited before will know what I mean when I say it was nothing short of breathtaking. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend making the trip.

If you’re looking to add a twist to your trip, check out the Grand Canyon’s invasive plant removal project. Invasive plants are non-native to the environment in which they reside. These “alien invaders”, as the National Park Service likes to call them, disrupt the natural ecosystem of the Grand Canyon. They provide unsafe food sources and habitat for the wildlife found in this great state park.

You can help preserve the natural environment of the Grand Canyon by volunteering to help remove these invasive plants. According to the Summer 2009 South Rim Visitor’s Guide, “A group of volunteers can pull thousands of plants in one day; many times more than the National Park Service staff could do alone.” This unique project enhances your trip to the Grand Canyon by giving you a perspective that most park visitors don’t get… a first-hand look at the surface of the canyon.

I think this would be a great project for Rotary/Rotaract, Kiwanis, Sierra Student Coalition UNLV, or any other group/organization looking for a fun way to participate in community service by protecting our natural environment for generations to come. The North Rim is less than 2 hours from Las Vegas, so this would be an easy project to escape Vegas for a day and be back by supper.

To volunteer visit http://www.gcvolunteers.org/ or contact the Grand Canyon Trust at (928) 774-7488.