THOUSAND OAKS, Calif - National Park Service rangers from Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) will host "Loteria Night" as part of a celebration for Latino Conservation Week on July 22 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The free event, featuring family-friendly guided night hikes and an opportunity to play lotería, a game like bingo, will be held at Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center in Newbury Park. Parking is free.
Winners of the lotería game will be awarded prizes. There will also be a "bat booth" hosted by a ranger with the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) and a chance to see real scorpions in the dark using ultraviolet flashlights. Visitors will also create seed pinatas and learn about monarch butterflies at another booth.
Prickly pear agua fresca, a beverage made from one or more fruits blended with sugar and water, will be served in the "Cactus Corner." Rangers will also present information about cactus scrub restoration and give out ethnobotany guides. The night hikes will highlight scorpions. The hikes will be led by rangers from the NPS, California State Parks, Latino Outdoors, and volunteers.
Participants can learn more and register for the event at samofund.com/outdoors-calendar.
For more information, please call the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center at 805-370-2301.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park System, it comprises a seamless network of local, state, and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/samo.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service