FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2016
Contact: Shauna Tucker
760.366.5440
shauna@mdlt.org

Mojave Desert Land Trust Invites the Public To Its Fall 2016 Gratitude Gathering Celebrating A Decade of Connectivity & Conservation

Highlighting our Native Plant Restoration Nursery & Seed Bank and the role of native plants in protecting and connecting our desert ecosystems

JOSHUA TREE, CA – Mojave Desert Land Trust invites the public to its 2nd Annual Fall Gratitude Gathering open house and native plant sale on Saturday, November 12, 2016 from 9am-2pm.

This event marks the organization’s 10-year anniversary and its evolving role and mission as a leader in desert conservation initiatives. A central theme of this evolution is the establishment of a Native Plant Restoration Nursery and Seed Bank, and the day will center around celebrating native plants and exploring their role in the desert ecosystem.

“Plants are the foundation of all ecosystems and they are the foundation of biodiversity. If we want to protect our ecosystems and connect our landscapes, we need to support and protect native plants,” says MDLT Nursery Manager Madena Asbell.

To showcase the importance of native plants to the desert’s unique biodiversity, Asbell has curated a program featuring Keynote Speaker Douglas Tallamy, Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, and author of the book Bringing Nature Home along with additional presentations by professional Botanist and Wildlife Biologist, Robin Kobaly and Anthony Madrigal, Jr., Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

Tallamy will speak about the specialized relationships between native plants and insects and why native plants are essential to healthy, diverse ecosystems. He’ll also address the use of native plants in residential landscapes as well as conservation.

Kobaly will present her signature Discovering The Ancients program, using interpretive displays and members of the audience to demonstrate how annual growth rings form, the difference between fast-growing, light-colored rings and slow-growing dark-colored rings, and how paying attention to these rings reveals the story of the plant’s history, from the droughts it has endured to wetter periods it has enjoyed.

Anthony Madrigal, Jr. will present a summary on the Biological Beneficial Uses Study that was performed on the Twenty-Nine Palms Indian Reservation near Coachella, CA. He will discuss the traditional and ceremonial uses of native plants and biological resources that are utilized by the Chemehuevi/Cahuilla people. He will also provide an overview of the Tribe’s preservation and management efforts.

The MDLT nursery is growing locally sourced native plants for restoration, and many of these plants will be available for purchase during the event. Other highlights of the day will include self-guided Nursery Tours; educational displays covering topics such as rare and endangered plants and plant-animal relationships; discovery and information stations hosted by guest-partners from the Native American Land Conservancy and California Native Plant Society; live square-dancing entertainment and a Salvage Saturday donation-sale, featuring a treasure-trove of relics salvaged from MDLT’s desert clean-up efforts.

A noon lunch will be available for a $10 suggested donation.

“We’re excited for the community to join us in celebrating our first 10 years of connecting and protecting the California Desert,” says MDLT Executive Director Danielle Segura. “As we carry forth the legacy begun by our visionary founders, we will continue growing and evolving MDLT’s mission to meet the ever-changing needs of our fierce but fragile desert ecosystems. This includes establishing our Native Plant Restoration Nursery and Seed Bank, as well as growing awareness and connectivity to our treasured desert landscapes through our stewardship and community engagement programs. As we reflect upon the last ten years we’re feeling more inspired than ever to take MDLT’s remarkable history into the next decade and beyond,” she says.

COMPLETE EVENT AGENDA:MDLT’s FALL 2016 GRATITUDE GATHERING
Celebrating a Decade of Connectivity & Conservation
Saturday, November 12, 2016
9AM – 2PM
Join Mojave Desert Land Trust and Special Guests:
Keynote Speaker Douglas Tallamy – author, entomologist, and wildlife ecology expert
Robin Kobaly – professional botanist and wildlife biologist
Anthony J. Madrigal, Jr. – Native American tribal historic preservation officer 

• Celebrate our 10th anniversary and the ongoing work of our organization

• Explore the role of native plants in connecting our desert communities and ecosystems

• Tour our nursery facility and purchase locally sourced and grown native plants

9:00AM – 2:00 PM
Native Plant Sale, Salvage Saturday, and Nursery Tours
9:30AM – 11:00AM
Program and Discussion in the Courtyard
Welcome • Danielle Segura, Executive Director—MDLT
Keynote Address • “Rebuilding Nature’s Relationships at Home” by Douglas Tallamy, Professor of Entomology and author of Bringing Nature Home
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Workshops in the Hanna Room
Robin Kobaly • Discovering the Ancients
Anthony Madrigal, Jr. • Traditional and Ceremonial Uses of Native Plants
12:00 – 2:00PM
Community Lunch & Activities in the Courtyard

• $10 Chili & Cornbread Lunch by Charley’s Catering

• Books & New Merchandise For Sale

• Information by the Native American Land Conservancy and the California Native Plant Society

• Desert Plant Education Stations

• Music and Square Dancing with Yucca Valley Star Twirlers Square Dance Club

ENTIRE EVENT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
MOJAVE DESERT LAND TRUST CENTER FOR CONSERVATION INITIATIVES
P.O. Box 1544 • Joshua Tree, CA 92252 • Info: 760-366-5440

Douglas Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 84 research publications and has taught Insect Taxonomy, Behavioral Ecology, Humans and Nature, Insect Ecology, and other courses for 34 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens was published by Timber Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writers' Association. The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, was published in 2014. Doug is also a regular columnist for Garden Design. Among his awards are the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation and the Tom Dodd, Jr. Award of Excellence.

Robin Kobaly is founder and President of The Power of Plants and the Executive Director of The SummerTree Institute, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation dedicated to providing new and refreshing viewpoints toward our environment, our place in it, and our responsibility to it. As a professional botanist and wildlife biologist with over thirty years of experience as an interpretive specialist, Robin designs and presents popular and highly-requested events and programs for adults and children. Robin has a Master’s Degree in Botany and Biology from the University of California Riverside, and had a twenty-year career with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as a botanist, wildlife biologist, and natural history interpreter before becoming the Preserve Manager for Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. Recently, Robin served on the Independent Science Panel to provide science-based input to the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) planning process and to develop recommendations to state and federal Renewable Energy Action Team (REAT) agencies for renewable energy development in the California Desert.

Anthony Madrigal, Jr. is the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, a federally recognized tribe in southern California. Anthony has over 15 years of tribal experience; working in cultural resources management, environmental protection and tribal government administration. Anthony has a Master’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Geographic Information Systems from the University of Redlands. He has worked for the Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians and Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians during his career.

Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the Mojave Desert ecosystem and its scenic and cultural resource values through acquisition, land stewardship, education & outreach, and strategic partnerships. This year MDLT celebrates ten years of protecting and connecting more than 60,000 acres throughout the California Desert, including the ongoing restoration and stewardship of nearly 16,000 acres, and continues to carry forth its vision of acquiring, protecting and caring for many more acres of land, habitat and wildlife corridors throughout its 24.5 million-acre service region.