There is real treasure amid the broken bottle fragments that litter the BLM Ash Springs Rock Art Site, as some Pahranagat Valley Middle School students learned Thursday.

“So far, we’ve found glass and some make-up stuff – there’s a lot of garbage,” joked 8th Grade student Dusty Simmers, her gloved hands tossing bits and fragments of trash into a large polyurethane bag.

Some of the “cool stuff” discovered at the site by the Pahranagat Valley Middle School 8th Grade class included old-style bottles, Mason jars used for canning fruits and vegetables, a clock, a spoon, and historic and prehistoric artifacts, all of which the students separated and sketched as part of a graded project.

“This is unfolding history,” explained Pahranagat Valley Middle School History Teacher Gena Wilson, while observing the student’s artistic endeavors.

“And they’re helping the BLM keep a public recreation site cleaned up,” added Jeanette Matovich, BLM Ely Field Office environmental protection specialist, as she hoisted a 55-gallon trash bag into the bed of a pick-up truck.

Matovich pointed out that the rock art site is located a mere quarter-mile walk from the popular Little Ash Springs Recreation Site, a hot spring visited weekly by hundreds of people.

Their labors done by noon, the now-weary teens hiked the quarter-mile to picnic on Buffalo burgers and stew, complete with all the trimmings, provided and prepared by the non-profit Nevada Native American Cultural Society. Also participating in the project was a volunteer site steward and representative of the Nevada Rock Art Foundation, headquartered in Reno, Nev.

Crunching a corn chip between her teeth, Simmers said she was confident that her project would receive a high grade.