itinerary
Day one: LAND DEGRADATION
Go to different households in the Sonoran Desert area and educate them about the ways to conserve water. By conserving water, less needs to be pumped from the ground water which degrades natural springs and dries them. Nine easy ways to save water are: turning off the faucet while brushing teeth, refill your plastic water bottle, buy recycled paper products, install a low flow shower head, water your lawn in early morning or evening to prevent evaporation, water the lawn with a hose not a sprinkler, eat more vegetables, use a lower setting on your dishwasher, and install faucet aerators.
Go to different households in the Sonoran Desert area and educate them about the ways to conserve water. By conserving water, less needs to be pumped from the ground water which degrades natural springs and dries them. Nine easy ways to save water are: turning off the faucet while brushing teeth, refill your plastic water bottle, buy recycled paper products, install a low flow shower head, water your lawn in early morning or evening to prevent evaporation, water the lawn with a hose not a sprinkler, eat more vegetables, use a lower setting on your dishwasher, and install faucet aerators.
Day two: POLLUTION
Go to local schools and educate the students about vehicle pollution and the effect it has on the area. Explain to them ways to prevent further pollution from vehicle such as reducing driving, carpooling, avoiding fast driving and frequent stopping and starting, keeping up with the regular vehicle maintenance, etc. We will then have the students then prepare a creative and educational poster with a group and share to the class . The poster must list possible problems involving vehicle pollution and ways they can prevent it, and it must be creative.
Go to local schools and educate the students about vehicle pollution and the effect it has on the area. Explain to them ways to prevent further pollution from vehicle such as reducing driving, carpooling, avoiding fast driving and frequent stopping and starting, keeping up with the regular vehicle maintenance, etc. We will then have the students then prepare a creative and educational poster with a group and share to the class . The poster must list possible problems involving vehicle pollution and ways they can prevent it, and it must be creative.
Day three: ENDANGERED SPECIES
Take a tour of the Sonoran Desert and see where the Nichols Turks Head Cactus lives while a guide informs you on the specie. Then as a group plant at least 5 Nichols Turks Head Cactus. After, travel to a spot where bufflegrass lives and briefly observe its environment and then learn about the specie and the negative affects it has on the area, lastly inform people on how they can help.
Take a tour of the Sonoran Desert and see where the Nichols Turks Head Cactus lives while a guide informs you on the specie. Then as a group plant at least 5 Nichols Turks Head Cactus. After, travel to a spot where bufflegrass lives and briefly observe its environment and then learn about the specie and the negative affects it has on the area, lastly inform people on how they can help.
Day four: LAND DEGRADATION
Go to farms in Sonoran Desert area and inform farmers that the current irrigation system is pumping too much ground water and harming the desert ecosytem. Educate the farmers about the drip method of irrigation which saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip to the roots of plants, on the surface soil or the deeper root area. The water gets to the plant through a network of valves, piping, emitters, and tubes. After, apply for a grant through National Resource Conservation Service to help provide farmers with the drip irrigation method.
Go to farms in Sonoran Desert area and inform farmers that the current irrigation system is pumping too much ground water and harming the desert ecosytem. Educate the farmers about the drip method of irrigation which saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip to the roots of plants, on the surface soil or the deeper root area. The water gets to the plant through a network of valves, piping, emitters, and tubes. After, apply for a grant through National Resource Conservation Service to help provide farmers with the drip irrigation method.
Day five: POLLUTION
Educate local coal mining companies about the dangers of using cyanide in gold mining and explain the importance of switching to alternative methods such as The Haber Gold Process or the cyanide-free biocatalyzed leaching process. After, go to a local mining museum (Wells Fargo History Museum in Phoenix) to learn more about the pollution and damage mining causes to the area and the process of it.
Educate local coal mining companies about the dangers of using cyanide in gold mining and explain the importance of switching to alternative methods such as The Haber Gold Process or the cyanide-free biocatalyzed leaching process. After, go to a local mining museum (Wells Fargo History Museum in Phoenix) to learn more about the pollution and damage mining causes to the area and the process of it.
Day six: ENDANGERED SPECIES
Have a guide explain how to build a bat box and the significance it has on a household, then go to a hardware shop and buy the supplies necessary, after that install a few bat boxes in homes, buildings, and neighborhoods to get rid of the insects living in those areas.
Have a guide explain how to build a bat box and the significance it has on a household, then go to a hardware shop and buy the supplies necessary, after that install a few bat boxes in homes, buildings, and neighborhoods to get rid of the insects living in those areas.