A team of volunteers from Merlin Custom Home Builders recently spent a Saturday morning planting trees and shrubs across 10 acres of the Las Vegas Wash, a wetlands area that serves as an oasis for a variety of plant and animal species in the middle of the Mojave Desert and a crucial cleansing point for runoff water that flows into Lake Mead. Erica Morrison, Brandi Atwater, Juliann Wilton, George, and Blanca Ridgley and her sons, joined hundreds of volunteers who pitched in to improve the Las Vegas ecosystem at the Fall Wash Green-Up sponsored by the Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee.
The volunteers completed planting at the final site along The Wash. Next year, volunteers will return to the first site and begin maintaining the area to keep the plants thriving in the desert.
Bart Jones thanked the Merlin team members for representing the company and its ongoing commitment to support the local community. “Congratulations to all of you,” he said. “That is something you can be very proud of and know that your efforts will benefit our valley for generations to come.”
Sara Eisert was also appreciative of the team’s efforts on behalf of the local charity. “It was a beautiful day to do a beautiful thing,” she said.
Brandi Atwater, receptionist, summed up the feelings of all of the Merlin volunteers by saying, “It was a great day. So happy I was part of it.”
The Wash carries the valley’s excess water – more than 150 million gallons a day of urban runoff, shallow groundwater, reclaimed water, and storm water – through the wetlands to Lake Mead. The vegetation in the wetlands helps clean the water, filtering out harmful residues from fertilizers, oils, and other contaminants that can be found on our roadways and in the surrounding desert.
Merlin Custom Home Builders and our team members are proud to give back to the community by volunteering, supporting, organizing and donating to worthy local causes. To learn more about The Wash and future events, click here.