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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. ...
Rillito River Bats: River Run Network Creek Walk & Clean UpThursday, July 29, 2021 - 5:30pm to 7:30pmRegister HereWatershed Management Group is partnering with Tucson Village Farm to host our family-friendly Bat Walk! The Rillito River is home to many different creatures that use Tucson’s watersheds and bridges as habitat. One of these cool critters is the Mexican Free-Tailed...
We are working to make water harvesting accessible to everyone. If you qualify for the Rain Money Program, WMG will provide you a low-cost Project Plan package to get you a design for irrigating your landscape with rainwater and greywater. The Rain Money Program also allows us to install your rain tank or landscaping through our Green Living Co-op with a 50% discount on our staff labor....
In May 2021, WMG visited the Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area, and found cows in the creek! We encouraged you, our members, to respond and tell the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) about this sighting, and there was an overwhelming response. Thank you to everyone who contacted BLM about the cows in the creek, you helped make a difference for this important...
Our virtual Field Studies are now being offered free of charge, to ensure everyone can benefit from WMG’s unique, educational offerings.Thinking about making use of your laundry water in your landscape? Learn how to plan and install a greywater Laundry-to-Landscape (L2L) system in this virtual class!Join us on Tuesday, August 10th at 5p.m. to learn How to Install a Laundry-to-Landscape Greywater...
A big congratulations to our WaterWRLD interns for completing our internship program! Wishing our 2020-2021 interns the best of luck as they continue to excel in their professional careers!Our interns, under the supervision of WMG staff, each completed a year-long project tailored to their interests.Amanda completed a zero-waste plan, where she identified areas we can generate less waste in our...
Hydrate the Valley has been bringing water harvesting education to Phoenix and surrounding cities since 2015. The five-class series is an introduction to water harvesting, permaculture design practices, native plant selection, greywater use, and other green practices focused on sustainable Sonoran Desert living. Hydrate the Valley classes went virtual in 2020, and for 2021 we are offering a...
Join the River Run NetworkHelp Restore the Flow!The River Run Network is a program that honors the 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 years and the Pascua Yaqui, Tohono O’odham, and Latino communities...
A Hikers' and Runners' Guide to Connect to PlaceTuesday, June 8, 2021 - 5:30pm to 7:00pmRegister How can we deepen our connections to natural and human communities through movement? As we run, hike, and recreate through expansive lands long stewarded by the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui, what can we learn to inform our own watershed health stewardship practice? Our speakers will inspire you to...
We want to celebrate everyone who helped dig basins and plant trees this spring. With the launch of our Build Your Own Basin (BYOB) kit distribution initiative this spring, we’ve distributed over 240 complimentary BYOB kits in March and April—sending folks home with native shade trees, native shrubs and wildflowers, and organic mulch!In addition to BYOB, we had planting events throughout April...
On Friday morning, WMG helped release a beaver into a new home along the San Pedro River. Critter Control, a private animal removal company in Northern Arizona, was called to remove a beaver along a river in the area because the landowners didn’t like the beaver chomping on their cottonwoods. Critter Control needed to find a new home for the beaver in short order, or the animal would...
Invasive Species: Take ActionSaturday, April 24 (All day)RegisterTake Action with the River Run Network! This Earth Day, celebrate by helping keep you neighborhood streets and creeks clear of invasive species through this River Run Network distributed clean-up effort! While we can’t all get together, our goal is to get 30 River Run Network household to commit to taking action in their own yards...
WMG is seeking a Development Manager who will be responsible for creating, administering, and implementing the organization's long-term development plan with a community-centric fundraising approach. They will manage a variety of tasks, including running annual fundraising campaigns, cultivating gifts, managing the monthly donor, major donor, and legacy donor programs, writing grants, and...
Our Release the Beavers campaign was a dam success! Thank you so much to everyone who donated, helping us surpass our goal and raising $75,728 to support binational beaver populations in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.This campaign is critical to help beavers reclaim their status as a keystone species in both the Santa Cruz and San Pedro River international watersheds. Western watersheds and...
Mesquite Forest Restoration Workshop: April 16th & 17thRegister for Friday, April 16th @ 8a.m. - 11a.m.Register for Saturday, April 17th @ 8a.m. - 11a.m.Help restore the mesquite forest near the confluence of the Tanque Verde and Pantano creeks! During this workshop, you’ll help plant native velvet mesquite trees to restore the ancient mesquite trees of the area. WMG's Associate Director...
Our 2020 Impact Report should be reaching your mailboxes soon. Filled with detailed information about our revamped Release the Beavers campaign, including a map of where beavers have dispersed, information of San Pedro and Sonoran beavers, and stories from community scientists and partners, you won't want to miss this! Read all about it!Beavers are so critical for our desert rivers that we...
It’s International Beaver Day!We at WMG couldn’t be more excited because we work in two international watersheds where beavers are a keystone species—the Santa Cruz and San Pedro River watersheds. Western watersheds and desert rivers have been drying up for the last 100 years, but beavers provide a powerful, nature-based solution to reverse that trend, even in the face of a warmer and drier...
We are one watershed. Or are we? We’ve got the U.S.-Mexico border guards, the border wall, competing water users, climate stress, and pollution. Despite it all, beavers don’t give a dam! Beavers are proving WMG’s mantra, We Are One Watershed, more than all else. They’ve found some allies in Arizona and Mexico—local biologists, conservationists, and ranchers—who are ensuring they are protected and...