COLUMN: `Mojave Max' gets respect

Mojave Max peered out of his burrow at 11:46 a.m. on March 22.

Because of the timing exhibited by this desert tortoise, Johnson Middle School sixth-grader Taylor Child was the winner out of 6,700 schoolchildren who entered the third annual Mojave Max Emergence Contest.

Desert tortoises hibernate in the fall and emerge in the spring. For the past three years, the Clark County Desert Conservation Program has sponsored a contest around this bit of nature. Schoolchildren from ages 6 to 18 are encouraged to do online research and guess when the program's mascot will emerge from his den at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Visitors Center.

Taylor's teacher, Jenny Cote, has followed the contest since its inception, and made it part of her classroom curriculum. She informed her English classes about desert tortoise hibernation and encouraged her pupils to enter the contest. Cote and Kristy Keller, principal of the school, embraced the contest by promoting environmental education in the classroom and extending those lessons into their communities.

When Taylor won, he wasn't the only winner. The entire class took a field trip May 1 to Red Rock, where County Manager Thom Reilly led the students around the desert habitat. Reilly congratulated Taylor and talked to his classmates about the importance of being aware of the fragility of the desert and the importance of respecting native species. The children were able to see Mojave Max's habitat and participated in a ground temperature experiment.

An additional component of this year's contest was a program that coincided with the emergence contest. The federal Bureau of Land Management, Red Rock Interpretative Association, volunteers and college interns developed a training guide and classroom education program. The trained volunteers presented information about the desert tortoise and its environment to classes throughout the school district. Creative methods to teach the material included dressing up a student to resemble a tortoise. Teachers who volunteered for the project were eligible for one college credit for continuing education.

Thousands of schoolchildren from 37 schools were reached through this project, and the Desert Conservation Program achieved its goal of educating youngsters about the Mojave Desert.

On another tortoise note, the Desert Demonstration Gardens is planning its annual Children's Tortoise Workshop from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 14. Children will have the opportunity to observe live desert tortoises with Jerry Shupe of the Desert Tortoise Society, and will work on an art project involving tortoises and water conservation. Children under 6 must be accompanied by an adult. Reservations are required for this worthwhile, fun project, so call 258-3205.

Carmel Hopkins, real estate product manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574. Her e-mail address is Carmel_Hopkins@ lasvegasnewspapers.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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