Utilities Inc. to host Arbor Day celebration at Discovery Park

Officials at Utilities Inc. of Central Nevada are inviting families and individuals to Discovery Park to observe Arbor Day from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The event is designed to educate the community as Utilities Inc., officials unveil a sustainable, educational park to the benefit of residents in the Pahrump Valley.

The event will take place ‘underneath the pines’ at Shadow Mountain Christian Fellowship Church, located at 1500 Red Butte Road.

Water Conservation Coordinator Debby Woodland said officials will roll out its new master plan for the site.

“We envision a 160-acre park and we’ll have different vendors there, including the Audubon Society, along with Home Depot and several others,” she said. “We will have free drawings on the half hour. This is basically an opportunity to show the community the future of the park.”

Woodland said the site will feature different areas while experts provide information on different species of flora and fauna.

“It’s going to be an educational park where you go from high-water-use plants, down to very low-water-use plants,” she said. “We have an art area and the Pahrump Arts Council is very much involved in that for the sculpture garden. The Audubon Society has 20 acres.”

Woodland said 30 trees were recently planted at the site courtesy of the Audubon Society.

She said officials plan to hold future Arbor Day celebrations at the site.

“This is going to be an ongoing project for many years,” she said. “We plan on having this as an annual event and I am hoping that we can have an official grand opening for next year’s Arbor Day.”

Additionally, Woodland said she will reach out to Nevada’s two universities to learn whether they would have an interest in being a part of the project in the future.

“We also have a research area and we are hoping that the University of Nevada Reno or UNLV might be interested in doing some research there,” she said. “On Saturday, we will have lots of kids’ games for the kids to participate in and enjoy. We are hoping that we can develop an Old West vision there. We also have a teaching garden, which is my passion. In the teaching garden area, we have set aside some land where we can eventually have a farmers market area there.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes