Articles
We had a fantastic bilingual bike ride with River Run Network members on Saturday, January 23rd! We started at Las Milpitas, where we were able to tour an amazing community farm, and then we took a bike ride along the Santa Cruz River on The Loop. Las Milpitas is a true example of community sustainability and resilience in action, and we are so grateful that they showed us around their farm with...
Los Propositos de Somos Una Cuenca, de WMGPropósito #1: Elevaremos todas las identidades de género y valoraremos plenamente sus contribuciones.Acciones: Crear espacios universalmente inclusivos en nuestro Laboratorio Vivo y Centro de Aprendizaje a través del diseño de nuestro espacio y la bienvenida a todas las personas, incluyendo instalaciones inclusivas de género, baños aptos para...
Saving water is as easy as doing a load of laundry or paying a visit to the bathroom.Laundry-to-Landscape (L2L) greywater kits are easy to install, and supplementing your landscape with greywater can add up to thousands of gallons of water for irrigating your favorite food-producing native or shade tree. We have all the resources to help you learn the why, what, and how to install a L2L kit at...
Today we reflect on the major moments and top accomplishments of 2021 with a dash of pop culture fun! We hope the Top Ten gives you a laugh or two, as well as inspiration to make a donation today. It's not too late to support our year-end campaign and power our programs in the New Year!Your Top Ten Reasons to Give to WMG: 10. Instead of the Year of the Ox, we’re naming 2021 the Year of the...
Thanks to everyone who donated to our year-end campaign and helped us reach and surpass our fundraising goal! With your help, we were able to raise over $116,000 to fund our community conservation projects and educational programs. You can still support our work by making a donation here.If you haven't yet, start the new year right by checking out our music video spoof: Basincito! ...
This November and December, WMG launched its first-ever Binational Beaver Survey - an on-the-ground effort to assess how many beavers are living along the San Pedro River and some of its main tributaries on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. In the late 1800's, beavers were exterminated from the binational San Pedro River. Twenty-one years ago, they were introduced into the San Pedro...
What is the Binational Beaver Survey?This November and December, WMG launched its first-ever Binational Beaver Survey - an on-the-ground effort to assess how many beavers are living along the San Pedro River and some of its main tributaries on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. This data will provide information needed to support healthy beaver populations along the San Pedro long-term so that...
On November 6, River Run Network members joined Catlow Shipek, WMG's Policy & Technical Director, and James Lauder, Project Manager, for some restoration work in the Pantano Jungle! This site is part of Pima County's Cienega Creek Natural Preserve near Vail, close to where our previous RRN restoration workshop was held as well. After a short hike through the Pantano Jungle, the group was...
For a grassroots non-profit like WMG, the end of the year means we need to fundraise so that we can power our work in the new year. Our goal is to raise $100,000 by January 1st, and we're already over halfway to our goal! Can you help us help nature do its work with a donation today?When you donate to WMG today, you fund hydro-local and nature-based solutions. We love letting nature do its...
On a guided tour, you’ll learn how to go hydro-local at your home! We will showcase our rainwater harvesting systems, compost toilets, laundry-to-landscape greywater harvesting system, food forest, and more! The tour will be outside, so please come prepared for the weather and to be standing and walking for the full tour time.The Living Lab and Learning Center is also our office headquarters and...
On October 9th, community members joined River Run Network program manager, Lauren Monheim, for a creek walk along the Santa Cruz River in Marana! The spot that we visited has been flowing perennially for many years now with the release of effluent flow from the Tres Rios Water Treatment Plant. During our walk, we had the opportunity to see plenty of insect species that can typically be found in...
On October 16th, members of the River Run Network joined WMG staff for a restoration workshop in the beautiful Ciénega Creek in the Horseshoe Bosque near Vail! With the guidance of Catlow Shipek, WMG's Policy & Technical Director, and James Lauder, Project Manager, we were able to identify areas of the wash where WMG had previously done "beavering" work, our word for building dams...
If you've been wanting to learn how to build a rain garden and get a rain garden kit, this is your chance! Sign up for a class this week to learn how to build a water harvesting basin and plant your own rain garden. After you take the class, you can take home your very own complimentary Build Your Own Basin (BYOB) Kit—which includes a native shade tree, wildflowers, shrubs, and organic mulch—to...
So much of the Santa Cruz River Watershed has changed, however we rarely hear stories of what it looked like as it was changing, or how the communities experienced these changes. There are gaps in the written record about the community's connection to the Santa Cruz River and its tributaries, particularly with their response to the decline of groundwater in the early to mid-1900s. With this...
We have two upcoming tank installations, and we would love your help for them!Tucson Co-op Workshop: Tank Install, All Hands on Deck! Friday, November 5, from 7:00am to 12:00pmTucson Co-op Workshop: Thank You Tank Crew! Saturday, November 13, from 7:00am to 12:00pmAfter some weeks without any tank installs, we have two workshops coming up where you can get experience installing rain tanks and...
We are overflowing with gratitude for everyone who donated to make our summer fundraising campaign a success! The WMG community turned out to support our work and allow us to continue spreading practical and effective water solutions through education, conservation, and advocacy initiatives.We hope you’ll attend one of our many classes and events that we’re able to hold this fall as a result of...
On August 26, we had a thought-provoking and grounding River Run Network event where we learned about the perspectives and ancestral knowledge of rivers from two local leaders: Josefina Cardenas of Barrio Kroeger Lane, and David Tenario of the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation.Josefina got us started by speaking about the spiritual significance of the Santa Cruz River as well as...
If you live in Tucson, you want basins. They grow tasty food, cool down our landscape, lessen noise pollution, are beautiful, and survive from storing the rain! We know how cool they are, so we are giving out Basin Kits for free! Sign up for the Virtual Build Your Own Basin (BYOB) class on October 26 or the in-person BYOB on October 30, and you can come pick yours up. Wondering what a...
We're back with a second round of Build Your Own Basin (BYOB) workshops this fall! Basins are the containers that catch rainfall and support the growth of rain gardens - stunning ecosystems of plants and trees that help clean and recharge groundwater, provide habitat for native species, cool homes and sidewalks, and reduce flooding.Sign up for an upcoming fall workshop here!We're also seeking...
9/2/21Water is essential to all life. And yet, in the Sonoran Desert, a century of poor management of our waters means that many human, animal, and plant communities don’t have the water they need. Drought and climate change have made this crisis even worse, and for the first time ever, a water shortage was declared last month for the Colorado River—which provides most of Tucson’s current...
Our River Heritage: The Story of Tucson’s Rivers and our Future LegacyThursday, August 26th @ 5:30p.m. - 6:30p.m.RegisterIn this virtual event, learn about the rich heritage of our arroyos, creeks, and rivers and the value that water holds for the peoples of Southern Arizona. In particular, we acknowledge the indigenous communities that have respected and stewarded our rivers for thousands of...
Do you have extra native plants, tools, or other items that could help someone else in our community build their own rain garden? We are now seeking donations for our fall BYOB community swap! Help create more native rain gardens in our community by dropping off your donations at WMG's Living Lab & Learning Center!Just drop off any of these plants and/or materials at our Living Lab on...
River Run Network Beautification Event: Clean Up Este Wash!Register HereSaturday, August 7, 2021 - 7:00am to 9:00amEste Wash runs through a neighborhood on the east side of Tucson, connected to the Pantano River—an important and beautiful part of our watershed. With our recent rains, the Pantano River has been flowing frequently this month! This flow will take more than water and...
Desert rain gardens do more than just harvest rain - they are living, ecological systems that improve the health of our environment, and help to reduce flooding, water native plants and trees, grow food plants, sink rain into our aquifer, keep pollution out of our groundwater, create habitat, shade and cool our city streets and buildings, and beautify our homes and neighborhoods. ...