The Fate of the Joshua Tree

A tidal wave of children poured out of the 15-passenger van I had driven just as I threw the vehicle into park and shut off the engine. I gave instructions to the group of eyes swirling and swiveling to capture glances of the Mojave Desert to stay put while I rechecked the first aid kit and the group’s extra water before locking the van doors. I led the group of fifth-grade and middle-schoolers onto a 3-mile looped trail and stopped in front of a group of hills made of piled granitic boulders. I shared how the igneous rock was made from cooled molten lava and how the process fits within the rock cycle. Then I turned to the Yucca plant, also known as the Joshua Tree, and sighed.

“These are trees?” one student asked as they pointed to the plant resembling a palm tree moonlighting as a cactus.

“No, they’re not actually trees,” I explained. “Yucca are succulents that are a part of the agave family. They’re native to the Southwestern United States, specifically California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, and northwestern Mexico, mostly here in the Mojave Desert at a certain elevation.”

“They look alien,” says another student.

“They’re been around for millions of years, but their habitat in the desert and mountain ranges is threatened by climate change, wildfires, and development.”