My name is Laila Perazzo, and this year I had the opportunity to be in Plant Systems 1. Throughout this school year, I’ve had some of the coolest opportunities, but I think the best was when Mrs. Sammons made it possible for all her classes to tour the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge.
I am not going to lie, I was super excited, but also a little unsure because I thought we might just be seeing a whole lot of nothing. The drive there did not give me too much hope — it was just dirt everywhere. Once we got there, though, my mind instantly changed. Yes, there was a whole lot of dirt everywhere, but there were also so many native plants. When you walked down just a little way, we got to see one of the best views, in my opinion, at the Stillwater Point Reservoir. It was incredible. You could see so many different types of plants and tons of different species of birds.
The Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is such an important place. The wetlands provide the necessary food, water, and shelter for hundreds of shorebirds, waterfowl, and other birds during migration. The refuge is not only there for animals, though. It also protects a wide variety of flora. During our tour, we passed a giant cottonwood tree. Earlier in the year, Mrs. Sammons brought us cuttings from the tree that we got to plant and grow ourselves.
We had a wonderful tour guide who even created a little game for our class so we could better understand what the wetlands provide. They took us down to look at the water, and we also got to drive through the old Stillwater town, where he told us all about the history of the area. He shared so many fun facts about the different plants and animals we passed along the way.
Throughout the school year, everyone had been growing plants native to Nevada so that at the end of the year we could bring them to the refuge and plant them. We ended up planting 300 plants. We had a space just behind the main building where everyone helped plant everything they had grown throughout the year. We also got to see the pollinator garden planted by the class before us, and it was fully grown and beautiful. They had some of the most gorgeous yarrow, ricegrass, and apricot globemallows I had ever seen — all student-grown.
Once we finished planting everything, we all sat down on the lawn and had a giant picnic. The group of kids I got to go on this trip with were honestly some of the greatest people I’ve met. Everyone got along so well, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had this year. I’m so grateful to everyone at the refuge who helped make this trip so wonderful for us.
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