The Hi-Desert Nature Museum is holding the first session in a three-part botany educational series titled, “How to Hug a Cactus: Embracing the Cacti and Succulents of the Morongo Basin” this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
The class is led by botanist and plant ecologist Robin Kobaly. Attendees will discover all the intricate behaviors that the hi desert’s cacti and succulents perform every day and night to survive our extreme desert conditions.
Robin will share mysterious facts about our region’s cacti and succulents that she has gleaned from her own experiences during her lifelong career as a botanist, wildlife biologist, and interpretive specialist.
Some of the topics discussed will be why some cacti and succulents lean south, how spines are more than just a protection from being eaten, and how to estimate the age of a succulent that doesn’t possess annual growth rings.
Attendees may never view our Basin’s cacti and succulents the same way again! The event is free and taking place at the Hi-Desert Nature Museum in Yucca Valley this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. No advanced registration is required.
Robin Kobaly is a botanist and plant ecologist with expertise in plant communities across the Mojave, Sonoran and Southwest deserts. She serves as Executive Director of The SummerTree Institute, an environmental education nonprofit, and is president and cofounder of The Power of Plants, her informational endeavor devoted to inspiring people to join in the thrill of knowing, protecting, planting, and thoughtfully using native plants of the American West. Robin has degrees from the University of California, Riverside, including a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and a Master’s Degree in Plant Ecology.
