DESERT GARDEN TOURS: Learn how native peoples of the 
Chichuahuan Desert survived ... details on Passport to 
Texas.

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Barton Warnock Environmental Educational Center in 
Terlingua is home to a two and a half acre garden filled 
with unique desert plant life. And all month long, visitors 
are invited to take a desert garden tour to learn how 
these plants adapted to the harsh conditions, as well as 
how they played a role in the survival of native 
inhabitants.

We go through and we'll start off with the Cactus and the Yuccas. 
They're some of the most common plants you'd find out here, 
and the different uses, such as sotol plant, which was as main 
food source for a lot of the indigenous and pioneer people in this 
area. We go in and talk about the different uses of these plants 
and how it helped them survive the desert itself. :20 
 
David Long is an interpretive Ranger at the site. He says 
in this day and age it's hard to comprehend how reliant 
early inhabitants of the region were on these plants.

A lot of people that are not familiar with the desert don't 
understand what they're looking at. They kind of overlook the 
importance of the desert plants. They don't realize the desert has 
everything to offer you. It has food, shelter, and the medicines 
out here if you just know what you're looking at. Going through 
the garden tours will give you a general idea of what the desert 
has to offer. :22 
 
Take a desert garden tour at the Barton Warnock 
Environmental Education center ... learn how when you 
visit the Texas Parks & Wildlife website. 

That's our show for today ... with research and writing 
help from Loren Seeger ... For Texas Parks and 
Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti