Take out your garden tools and do something good for Mother Earth during Dia del Rio on Saturday, Oct. 21.
During this bi-national observance, communities lead a massive volunteer effort to improve the quality of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo and its environmental surroundings.
Locally, the Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center—in collaboration with the City of Laredo, Keep Laredo Beautiful and the Rio Grande International Study Center—will host a community-wide work day for the city’s oldest nature trail, Paso del Indio.
The trail is located on the north side of the Laredo Community College main campus close to the LBVESC.
Students, community and friends of the environment are invited to participate. A liability release form must be signed by trail work volunteers; minors must have a parent or an adult guardian co-sign the form.
Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. at the LBVESC. The trail work begins at 8 a.m. and lunch is served to all volunteers at 12 p.m. Volunteers also will receive an event T-shirt for their support.
LBVESC Director Tom Miller looks forward to seeing a large crowd of volunteers to help mulch and maintain the nature trail.
“For 14 years, the Paso del Indio nature trail at Laredo Community College has been a celebration of our riverine environment, offering wildlife and bird sightings not often seen within city limits,” Miller said.
The science center will have a limited supply of tools on hand for work day. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own wheelbarrows, talaches, rakes, and gloves. They also should wear sunscreen and mosquito repellant.
Miller added that an array of native plants will be sold on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the science center.
The plants were raised by LCC students participating in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Environmental Entrepreneurship program during the last three years.
Miller noted that native plants can help conserve Laredo’s water supply.
“By planting native plants, you can curb water usage, save utility money and encourage native wildlife to flourish,” he said.
The native plant sale includes mountain laurels, ebonies, palo blancos, granjenos, anacuas, agaves, anacahuites and others.
Native aquatic plants for outdoor ponds also will be sold.
During Dia del Rio, individuals may buy the plants for their own use or sponsor their planting by the NOAA scholars on the nature trail. The plants range in price from $5 to $15, or persons may sponsor planting one on the trail for $10.
The Paso del Indio nature trail stretches about 6,000 feet near the banks of the Rio Grande on the LCC main campus.
Students and community use the trail for educational and recreational purposes.
According to the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Basin Coalition website, the river serves as a lifeline for its people and ecosystems. From Native American Pueblos to industrial cities such as Monterrey, about 13 million people depend on its water. The basin also is home to many endangered and threatened plants and animals.
For more information about the nature trail work day, contact the LBVESC at 764-5701.
Volunteers are needed Saturday, Oct. 21 during the observance of Dia del Rio to mulch and maintain the Paso del Indio nature trail, recognized as the city’s oldest nature trail. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. and the trail work begins at 8 a.m. Lunch will be provided to volunteers after the work day. The trail sits on the north side of the Laredo Community College main campus.
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