Leaves and Sky
Tortoise Tales: Newsletter of the
Hi-Desert Nature Museum
IN THIS ISSUE
Earth Day
First Wednesday Program
Exhibit Reception
Climate Change Conference
JTNP Art Festival
Organic Gardening Workshop
New Dinosaur Discovered
Bee Friendly
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 12, Climate Change Conference 
March 12, Exhibit Reception 
March 20, Matinee at the Museum
March 27, Organic Gardening Workshop
April 7, First Wednesday Program 
April 17, Earth Day Celebration
April 30, YVHS Art Show Reception
May 5, First Wednesday Program
May 29, Grubstake Days Parade & Fair
 
Mark Your Calendars for our 2010 Starry Nights Festival on Saturday, October 9th!
 
Click here to view the museum's web site for details on upcoming programs and events
 
Earth Day 2010Earth Day
In honor of Earth Day, the Hi-Desert Nature Museum will celebrate the diversity of life on earth with a day of activities that will inform, educate and entertain visitors.  Local experts will be on hand to provide demonstrations for turning waste into black gold for your garden, growing your own food, and recycling.  This family-oriented event includes live animal presentations, kids activities, and live international music and dance.  There will also be a variety of vendor booths featuring local artists and environmental education resources.  This event is made possible through the generous support of the Town of Yucca Valley and the Mojave Desert & Mountain Recycling Authority.  
 
Saturday, April 17
9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Admission is FREE!
 
Desert Christ ParkFirst Wednesday History Program
Desert Christ Park, Burke LeSage
Desert Christ Park is an iconic landmark of Yucca Valley.  The park is decorated with statuary created by Antone Martin in the 1950s depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ.  Martin considered the park a tribute to world brotherhood and peace.  It is non-denominational and open free to the public.  Join Burke LeSage from the Desert Christ Park Foundation as he discusses the history of this fascinating park and the Foundation's hopes and plans for the future.
 
Wednesday, April 7, starting at 5:30 p.m.
$5 donation to the Morongo Basin Historical Society at the door 
 
Click here to visit the Desert Christ Park Foundation web site
 
Lace ParleeExhibit Opening and Reception
We are presenting "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," an exhibition of artwork contributed by local artists made from recycled or reused materials.  This exhibit is designed to make people rethink our throw-away society by sharing the local community's innovative and often surprising use of discarded items.  (Shown here is "Lace Parlee" by Shirley James.)  In conjunction with this exhibit, the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council will be displaying winning artwork from their Climate Change art contest.
 
Both exhibits will be on display from March 12  through April 23
 
An opening reception will be held on Friday, March 12, from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. and is free to the public. 
Enjoy refreshments and the lyrical sounds of flute player Steve Ruiz.  This reception will be held immediately following the Climate Change Conference (see below).
TortoiseClimate Change and the 
California Desert Conference 
Defenders of Wildlife and National Parks Conservation Association present this informative conference.  Featured speakers include Dr. Cameron Barrows, Center for Conservation Biology, on the implications of climate change for desert tortoises and other reptiles; Dr. Deborah Hughson, National Park Service, on the crucial link between climate change, desert water resources and the wildlife that needs springs; Dr. Lori Hargrove, Researcher at the San Diego Museum of Natural History, on the future of desert birds in the face of climate change; and Jim Ferguson, Mayor Pro Tem of Palm Desert, on how to tap into funding for rooftop solar.  
 
Friday, March 12th, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.)
Yucca Room, Community Center Complex
FREE Admission!  Bring a reusable coffee mug to be entered in the raffle!
Please RSVP to Seth Shteir, Senior Program Coordinator for the National Parks Conservation Association, at sshteir@npca.org or call (760) 366-7785
 
Mark GourdsJoshua Tree National Park Art Festival
Art and nature come together in charming cordiality at Joshua Tree National Park's 18th Annual Art Festival.  More than 25 artists representing a wide variety of mediums will be on hand to exhibit and sell their work.  A theme show, all work is an output of creativity inspired by the spectacle and innumerable delights to be seen in Joshua Tree National Park and the southwest desert.  Meet the artists and learn what it was in their desert view that so inspired their creativity.  (Shown here is gourd art by Mark Wheeler.)  The Festival is sponsored by the Joshua Tree National Park Association, a non-profit organization that provides support and assistance to the park's interpretive, educational and scientific programs.  For more information call (760) 367-5537. 
 
April 2, 3 & 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Oasis of Mara Visitor Center, Twentynine Palms 
FREE Admission!
 
Organic GardeningOrganic Gardening Workshop
Learn how to grow your own backyard fruits and vegetables without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.  Also tips on home composting, soil building, rodent control, and water conservation.  This workshop will be taught by Mike from Unique Garden Center.
 
Saturday, March 27th, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Yucca Valley Community Center, Ocotillo Room
FREE!
 
AbydosaurusNew Dinosaur Discovered!
Scientists made a rare find in a quarry in Dinosaur National Monument, eastern Utah: four skulls of a new species of giant plant-eating dinosaur, one completely intact.  Skulls of plant-eating dinosaurs were so light and fragile that they have rarely been preserved to be discovered by paleontologists.  Scientists are calling the new dinosaur species Abydosaurus, a sauropod which lived about 100 million years ago.  Like its relative Brachiosaurus, the long-necked Abydosaurus had a massive body with tree-trunk legs but a relatively tiny head, about one two-hundredth the size of its body mass.  The smallest sauropods could weigh as little as 10 tons; the largest as much as 50 to 60 tons.  This discovery of skulls will provide a treasure trove of information for scientists.  They can even perform a CT scan of the intact head to map the shape of the brain.  The skulls contain rows of teeth, which can provide information on the animal's diet and digestive system.  Sauropods like Abydosaurus did not break down food at all in their mouths, instead vacuuming plants straight to their stomachs.  This efficient system might help explain why sauropods could grow from a football-sized egg to 50 feet in length.     
 
Bee on FlowerBee Friendly
The oldest bee remains known to exist are preserved in a small bit of amber and believed to be over 80 million years old.  The earliest record of honey bees and people interacting is a rock painting found in Spain dated 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.  Bee hives were maintained in Ancient Egypt and Greeks and Romans called honey "nectar of the Gods."  Although the Americas have native bees, honey bees are not native to North or South America and did not arrive until Europeans settled here.  By the mid 1600s records show that the European honey bee population was widespread on the East Coast.  Native Americans called the honey bee "White Man's Flies."  The European honey bee is likely the most appreciated immigrant in U.S. history, pollinating 80% of the fruits, vegetables and seed crops in the U.S.  But now honey bees across the country are disappearing due to a condition known as Colony Collapse Disorder, threatening agriculture and many of our favorite foods.  But you can help keep these important pollinators healthy, and bolster the productivity of your own garden, by keeping your yard bee friendly.  Here are some helpful hints for gardeners:
* A wide variety of flowering plants will attract bees, especially with different shapes and colors.
* Avoid using pesticides, there are many natural ways to control pests in your garden.
* If you must use pesticides, read the labels to avoid chemicals that are toxic to bees.
* Providing shallow pools of water will attract bees and keep them healthy.
* Clear vegetation from a few small patches of ground to provide nesting opportunities for ground-nesting bees.
 
Did You Know?
* Honey bees are the only insect that produces food eaten by man.
* The honey bee's wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, making their distinctive buzz.
* A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip.
* Honey bees communicate with one another by "dancing," providing direction and distance to flowers.
* The male honey bees are called drones.  They do no work at all and have no stinger, all they do is mate.
* The worker bees are sexually undeveloped females.  They are the only bees that sting.
* Each honey bee colony has a unique odor for member's identification.
* Metallic blue or green sweat bees are considered to be "solitary bees" (small colonies) as opposed to "social bees" (large colonies).  All bees native to the Americas are solitary bees.
* A large colony consists of 20,000-60,000 bees and one queen.
* A queen bee can lay her weight in eggs in one day and 200,000 eggs in a year.
* When the queen bee dies workers will create a new queen by feeding one of the worker females a special diet of food called "royal jelly."  This elixir enables the worker to develop into a fertile queen bee.
Visit the Museum
The Hi-Desert Nature Museum is located in the Yucca Valley Community Center Complex at 57116 Twentynine Palms Highway.  The museum is open Tuesday - Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Admission is free; donations support the educational mission of the museum.  The Hi-Desert Nature Museum is operated by the Town of Yucca Valley.  
For more information on our programs and events contact the museum at (760) 369-7212 or visit our web site at www.hidesertnaturemuseum.org 
 
To view a full schedule of Yucca Valley events, sports programs and recreation classes visit the Town's web site at www.yucca-valley.org