Keep Joshua Trees Safe!

The beautiful Joshua trees of the Mojave desert are now at risk of burning.

These spiky and oddly shaped trees have been at risk of disappearing due to wildfire. But wait, it has rained so much recently, so why is there more likelihood of fire than less after very heavy rain?

Take a moment to think: If it rains, won’t there be moisture in the ground to prevent the fires? It turns out, not exactly. Let’s take it step by step. First it rains and the ground becomes muddy. Next, the rainy season stops, so the sun is out and dries out the mud and all the moisture. But because of all the previous rain, brush has grown everywhere around the Joshua trees, but again, because of the sun, they dry out. Now, the dry brush is perfect for burning up. But when the wind blows, the fire spreads to the surrounding Joshua trees. 

As you might know, after the Joshua trees burn, they take many years to regrow. Even in our lifetime, a new Joshua tree will still not regrow to be a mature tree. They take hundreds of years to grow, and more unexpected amounts of rain due to climate change mean more chance of fire and for them the Joshua trees to burn. If we don’t bother to do something about this now, it will soon be too late.

My idea is that the city can create a website or social media where you can learn about Joshua trees and how they are burning due to wildfire. Maybe they can team up with influencers to make the contents! They also can create a space for people to donate money toward saving the remaining Joshua trees before they burn. After this, firefighters can use those funds to do their best to save these trees. This way we can all contribute to saving the trees even by donating a small amount of money. Then, we may be able to save the Joshua trees before they burn down.

But first, we need to do our best to slow down this climate change. Let’s ask ourselves what we can do…