{"id":1778,"date":"2012-08-16T17:11:26","date_gmt":"2012-08-16T17:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/166.62.41.2\/~holaamericanews\/2012\/08\/16\/snakes-turtles-birds-river-otters-coyotes-and-a-bubble-gum-plant\/"},"modified":"2012-08-16T17:11:26","modified_gmt":"2012-08-16T17:11:26","slug":"snakes-turtles-birds-river-otters-coyotes-and-a-bubble-gum-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/snakes-turtles-birds-river-otters-coyotes-and-a-bubble-gum-plant\/","title":{"rendered":"Snakes, turtles, birds, river otters, coyotes and a bubble gum plant."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Raul Alvarado had never heard of a bubble gum plant before. Actually called Swamp Milkweed, the pink flowering plant was<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

just one of the many plants and animals that the 14-year-old discovered on Thursday morning, August 2 during a visit to Nahant Marsh in Davenport. Alvarado was one of eleven members of the Quad Cities\u2019 LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) Youth Council 600 who visited the marsh and education center as part of their summer activities.<\/p>

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\u201cI didn\u2019t know it actually smelled like it,\u201d said Alvarado about the plant. \u201cMost of [the plants and animals] I haven\u2019t seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Snakes_2\"<\/p>\n

Nahant Marsh is a 513-acre site along the Mississippi River in southwest Davenport, home to over 400 kinds of plants and many varieties of wildlife including snakes, turtles, birds, beavers, river otters, coyotes and even bobcats.<\/p>\n

“Just about any kind of mammal you can think of that’s in Iowa, you can find here,\u201d says Nahant Marsh Facilitator Brian Ritter, who led the group on the tour.<\/p>\n

Although the water in the marsh is at the lowest level in recent memory due to this summer\u2019s drought, plenty of wildlife is still around.<\/p>

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\u201cGoing out on the dock and seeing the turtles out there- I saw four or five,\u201d says Michael Alvarado, 15, Vice President of the LULAC Youth Council 600.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe get to learn new things and have new experiences,\u201d Alvarado says about the youth group\u2019s activities.<\/p>

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\"Snakes_3\"<\/p>\n

After the tour of the marsh, the kids saw a few different reptiles up close in the classroom at the Nahant Marsh Educational Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that they\u2019ll gain an appreciation for nature and grow up to be stewards [of the land],\u201d says Ritter. \u201cOr maybe spark a career.\u201d<\/p>

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Educational field trips like the marsh visit are one of three focus areas for the LULAC youth group, in addition to community service and group mentoring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey seem to be enjoying it,\u201d says Mike Reyes, President of the adult LULAC council 10, who was there chaperoning the trip. \u201cThese guys are real inquisitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the summer, the group toured a 4,000-acre dairy farm and next month they will volunteer and help run concessions at the Viva Quad Cities festival.<\/p>\n

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