River Run Network Restoration Workshop: Tanque Verde Arundo Removal - May 18

Join our community effort to restore Tanque Verde Creek! We invite people of all ages, diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, beliefs, and many other diverse communities to participate in restoring our heritage of seasonal and year-round water flows. Come work with WMG staff and other River Run Network volunteers in a beautiful riparian area to remove this invasive species and contribute to the restoration of surface flows and the riparian forest. We are working around an area that has recently seen a return of extended, seasonal flows!

WMG’s River Run Network is excited to tackle the removal of an invasive species, Arundo donax (giant reed), from along Tanque Verde Creek in east Tucson. Arundo is harmful because it drinks up to 3-4 times as much water as native desert plants, crowds out native species and habitat, and increases the risk of flooding and wildfire. By helping to remove Arundo at this workshop, you’ll be helping to restore groundwater levels and surface flow in the Tanque Verde Creek.

New to this effort? At each workshop, we will hand out a punch card to new volunteers and punch returning volunteers' cards to help you keep track of the workshops you've been to! Learn more about the prizes for attending workshops and see how much Arundo we have removed with River Run Network volunteers since we started this effort.

Since this effort began in 2021, volunteers have helped remove over 100,000 pounds – more than 50 tons – of Arundo from Tanque Verde Creek and we look forward to removing more with your help!

This event is organized through WMG’s River Run Network (RRN). The RRN is a program that honors the heritage of our rivers and the value that water holds for the peoples of Southern Arizona. We acknowledge the indigenous communities that have respected and stewarded our rivers for thousands of years and the Pascua Yaqui, Tohono O’odham, and Latino communities that continue to steward the rivers today. Members work together to learn about and steward our rivers through creek walks, restoration activities, river clean-ups, and educational workshops. If you are not yet a member, we will add you to the RRN when you register for this event. Membership is free and includes a regular e-newsletter with upcoming events.