News from around the Valley, Aug. 6-12, 2015

Mulch and organic compost available at Research Center

The community mulch pile is back by popular demand. The coarse, organic wood mulch chipped from trees removed in the Las Vegas community is available for pickup at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Research Center and Demonstration Orchard, 4600 Horse Drive.

The mulch is free if loaded by the individual and $2 per tractor scoop loaded.

This coarse mulch will decompose in a couple of years, adding organic matter to the soil, lowering the soil pH and encouraging soil microorganisms and worms, according to the research center.

Along with the mulch, organic compost is available for $3 per 5-gallon bucket and $15 per tractor scoop.

The mulch and the compost are available for pickup from the Research Center from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Call the research center at 702-786-4361 or the Master Gardener help desk at 702-257-5555.

Fall soccer season registration open through Aug. 29

The North Las Vegas Youth Recreational Soccer League plans to take registrations through Aug. 29. This recreational youth league is designed for children 3 to 13 to learn and develop their skills in soccer while engaging in low-key competition.

Participants are randomly assigned to volunteer-coached teams. All teams practice one evening per week at Tropical Breeze Park, 1505 E. Tropical Parkway. Games are played on Saturdays at the park.

Registration is $65 per child, and all volunteer head coaches will receive half off their child's registration fee.

Call 702-633-2558.

Spring Mountain Youth Camp recognized for work on trail system

The Blue Tree Trail System received the 2015 Recreational Trails Program Annual Achievement Award from the Coalition for Recreational Trails. The award recognizes the Blue Tree Trail System for outstanding use of Recreational Trails Program dollars in the categories of education and communication.

Youths from the Spring Mountain Youth Camp program help the U.S. Forest Service maintain and build all trails at Mount Charleston. Youths also clean up litter, build signs and shovel snow in the winter to fulfill community service requirements. They are paid for work performed and can keep the balance of their earnings after meeting court-ordered restitution obligations. The program has been in place 45 years, the longest-standing interagency collaboration in Forest Service history.

The Blue Tree Trail System represents 50 miles of the 135 miles of nonmotorized trails in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, part of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The Forest Service applied for a grant to improve the system with help from youths at the Spring Mountain Youth Camp, which is administered by Clark County's Department of Juvenile Justice Services.

Centennial Hills Active Adult Center wins garden award

The Centennial Hills Active Adult Center's Celestial Community Garden was selected as a winner in the 2015 Landscape Awards hosted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

The Celestial Community Garden has 13 gardeners who tend 10 full-size garden beds, an herb garden and an orchard area. The garden was selected as the winner based on the core criteria of aesthetics, irrigation, plant selection and community involvement.

Members of the garden are invited to attend a special ceremony Sept. 17 to receive their award.

Culinary Academy of Las Vegas to provide free and nutritious meals

The Culinary Academy of Las Vegas is set to provide free and nutritious meals to children 18 or younger Monday through Friday during the summer. Meals are to be provided to all children at 100 Academy of Excellence, 2341 Comstock Drive; Agape, 3650 N. Rancho Drive, No. 106; New Discovery Behavioral Center, 3660 N. Rancho Drive; the Pearson Community Center, 1625 W. Carey Ave.; and the Richard Steele Boxing Club, 2475 W. Cheyenne Ave., No. 110.

The federally funded program is administered by Nevada's Department of Agriculture to youths living in low-income areas. The academy expects to prepare and deliver more than 1,200 meals a day this summer, for a total of more than 66,000 meals.

Email gpearce@theculinaryacademy.org or call 702-924-2102.