Articles
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...
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...