Articles
[English below] ¡El manual digital “El Cuidado de los Jardines de Lluvia” de WMG ya está aquí!Ahora disponible en Inglés y Español, este recurso cubre lo básico de los jardines de lluvia, desde su funcionamiento hasta el cuidado durante cada estación del año. Los hispanohablantes de nuestra región ahora se pueden beneficiar de la información en este manual. Contenidos destacados incluyen...
Our River Run Network Program Manager (Lauren Monheim) took 11 River Run Network Members throught a flowing part of the Santa Cruz River on Saturday, July 16th, 2022.Though none of the attendees had been in the area before, there was no hesitation for the group - they all got their feet wet! It was an inspiring way to spend a Saturday morning, discussing the Flow365 Monitoring Program, talking...
You’re invited to WMG’s annual Volunteer Recognition Celebration on the evening of Thursday, November 21st! Enjoy the opening night of Watershed Soundscape, a music + art + landscape multidisciplinary concert experience exploring the sounds of our watershed with performances by UA School of Music faculty artists and readings by Alison Hawthorne Deming.When: Thursday, November 21st, 5:30 – 7:...
The Hydrate Surprise class series is underway this July in Surprise's new Water Education Center! This series will guide you through designing water harvesting systems for your home, including earthworks, tanks, and greywater – just in time for the monsoons. In this series, you will learn how to evaluate your landscape for water harvesting potential and learn practical ways to convert your...
Clean pants and wet plants: that’s what a greywater harvesting set up can give you!In the Sonoran Desert, people have made use of greywater – gently used water from their washing machines, handwashing sinks, and/or showers – to irrigate gardens and trees for generations. With increasing concerns about tapping into the Colorado River for our water needs, nourishing outdoor plants with greywater is...
Care about water and ready to make an impact in your community? Then our Docent volunteer program is for you!The Watershed Management Group (WMG) Docent Program is an opportunity to share your skills and passion for a sustainable water future, and engage with diverse community members in Tucson. Docents are the face of Watershed Management Group out in the community and at our Living Lab &...
La autora de este artículo, Angélica Rascón, fue parte de nuestro equipo de pasantes en 2021 y aportó mucho en diferentes proyectos, especialmente al sur de Tucson. Se graduó de la Universidad de Arizona con una Maestría en Agua, Sociedad y Política; y aqui nos platica en este escrito lo que significa el monzón para ella y quienes la rodean.--El MonzónEn el contexto de la lluvia, cada verano del...
First, join us on a creek walk through the flows of the Santa Cruz River on Saturday, July 16th @ 8am. Our Flow365 Monitors volunteer year-round to collect data on different creeks and rivers in Tucson, and they have found another beautiful flowing area on the northwest side of our city. Come explore this stretch of the Santa Cruz with Lauren Monheim, WMG’s River Run Network Program Manager...
(Español abajo)The Julian Wash runs through Barrio Kroeger Lane, connecting to the Santa Cruz River just West of the I-10 highway.As our creeks, rivers, and washes fill up with water during our rainy seasons, trash follows and accumulates with the flow, and invasive species start outcompeting the native vegetation. In May, Favor Celestial, a community of neighbors from Barrio Kroeger Lane...
Watershed Management Group acknowledges that we live, learn, work, and engage with community on the ancestral lands of the Hohokam, Sobaipuri, and Apache people and those of the Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O’odham, whose relationship with this land continues to this day. We acknowledge that water in the Sonoran Desert is of great spiritual, physical, and ecological significance to be protected,...
Come See the Living Lab in Action!Our monsoon rains are here! Come see our rainwater capturing systems in action this summer. You'll even get to sample our filtered rainwater! We're hosting tours of our Living Lab & Learning Center every 2nd and 4th Saturday. On these guided tours, you'll learn all about our hydro-local space and how to prepare your own home or community space...
It's an important time to take action to help beavers restore Ciénega Creek! The Bureau of Land Management recently took a step toward re-establishing beavers in Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area by posting its Environmental Assessment on this proposal. Thank you to all the WMG supporters who have been part of the Release the Beavers campaign over the last three years, and the over 175...
2021 was a wild year for Tucson’s creeks and rivers, with historically high flows from the 3rd wettest monsoon on record in Tucson! All year long, our Flow365 community scientists were on the scene, capturing flow data for specific streams throughout the Tucson basin. This community science operation is led by a subset of our River Run Network— a group of people working together to restore Tucson...
The latest news on the Colorado River shortage makes it clear that now is the time to transition to sustainable, local water solutions and reduce dependence on faraway water supplies. While the headlines can be gloomy, there is so much positive action happening in our binational watersheds in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico to create water security and resilience in the face of droughts and water...
May 9th, 2022Right now, we have a chance to help bring beavers back to Ciénega Creek! The Bureau of Land Management in Arizona is deciding whether to move forward with a proposal to re-establish beavers in Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area near Vail. As beaver believers, WMG strongly supports this plan – beavers were long-term inhabitants of our desert rivers until the rise of fur...
Want to get experience building earthworks, installing tanks, or creating a pollinator garden? We have four hands-on educational workshops this month in which you can help build these wonderful rainwater harvesting systems in people's backyards. Our Expert instructors will be there to facilitate the completion of the project in an educational formate, taking time to explain the...
Ciénega Creek, located in Southern Arizona, has stretches which flow seasonally as well as year round. It has some of the most intact riparian areas in the state of Arizona. The creek is an important source of groundwater for the Tucson area as it flows northwest into Tucson where it becomes the Pantano Creek, and eventually joins the Rillito River.. We have projects both along the...
It’s one thing to like the idea of desert creeks and rivers – it’s another to experience them. On Friday April 1st, WMG staff traveled to Ciénega Creek in Southern Arizona, where we saw an area that is slated for beaver reintroduction. Under the shade of cottonwood trees and willows, and stepping through stretches of cold, flowing water, we spent the day exchanging knowledge with partners from...
The author of this article, Angelica Rascon was part of our internship program in 2021 and contributed a lot in different projects, especially projects at south Tucson. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a Masters in Water, Society and Politics and, she shares with us what the monsoon means for her and those around her. --The MonsoonIn the context of rain, every summer from...
Enjoy an evening outdoors at WMG’s Living Lab on International Beaver Day, Thursday, April 7th @ 5:30p.m. - 8:00p.m.! Beavers & Brews | Castoriando con Chelas will feature a presentation from Ben Goldfarb, the author of Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, as well as a slideshow by WMG and our Mexico-based partners sharing the results of our first ever Binational...
(Español abajo) Watershed Management Group (WMG) invites the community to celebrate Earth Day with kids’ activities, live entertainment, food for purchase and more on Saturday, April 16th from 8a.m.-12p.m. at the Living Lab and Learning Center. In addition to ongoing educational booths and opportunities to explore the Living Lab, WMG will teach free workshops on how to plant your own rain garden...
Join our team and make a difference in your watershed!The WaterWRLD program provides real-world work experience and community engagement opportunities. Interns/spprentices will work directly with WMG staff, docents, volunteers, and partners on community-based conservation and environmental justice projects. Participants in the WaterWRLD program will:Increase understanding of community-based...
(Español abajo) Over the past two years, WMG has been in the process of updating our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Resolutions by incorporating feedback from community partners, staff, and board members. We are excited to introduce those resolutions here!We know there is work to do to make sure the benefits of hydro-local living are more accessible to our diverse community, including low...
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...