Articles
Whoa, beaver dam! We’ve pulled out all the stops for our year-end video spoof – remaking the #1 song of the year – Old Town Road – a country rap song that topped the charts for a record-breaking 19 weeks. Whether you’ve heard it 100 times or you’ve miraculously dodged pop culture and missed it, I guarantee you’ll be singing along to our version. The beavers are counting on it!This video is...
At the close of a decade, we’re sharing WMG’s most significant accomplishments of the 2010s, made possible by you—our steadfast donors, hard-working volunteers, and collaborative partners. This decade has been marked both by great progress and growing division with social and environmental issues. During this time, the WMG community has been a hopeful and inclusive space, with boots on...
If climate change is one of your concerns and saving the planet is one of your goals, the Watershed Management Group, or WMG, and the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club have organized a tour that you won’t want to miss: The 8th Annual Homescape Harvest Tour will highlight 14 local residential and schoolyard landscapes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19. Read more here!
A young woman learns to operate heavy machinery for precision excavating. A group of UA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture students create an award-winning rainwater harvesting design. A high school on Tucson’s southwest side gets a cooling landscape that no longer floods. Students at the Star Academic High School learn about rainwater capture, and its importance...
It wasn’t too long ago when cutting curbs for capturing stormwater was illegal in Tucson. Only 15 years ago, rainwater harvesting rebels were breaking the law when retrofitting street side curbs to capture and funnel stormwater into basins to water trees and other vegetation.We’ve come a long way since then, but we still have a lot of ground to cover. Tucson governmental organizations are being...
What is the impact of one rain garden or of one green infrastructure workshop? When does the number of installed rain gardens reach a tipping point and make a measurable, large-scale change in a community?Tucson is sitting at that tipping point. WMG, along with many other grassroots groups, neighborhoods and families, have been installing rain gardens and green infrastructure projects across...
Arizona cities are increasingly looking to incorporate green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) into their roadway designs to boost urban forestry and complete streets goals while conserving municipal water supplies. WMG has been on the cutting edge of this evolution as – for the last decade – we’ve worked with municipalities statewide to break down barriers in implementing GSI. We’ve done this by...
Watershed Management Group and Pima County Flood Control District are working on a restoration project along the Rillito River, and need volunteers to help with plantings on Saturday, August 24, from 7 a.m. to noon. WMG’s River Restoration Biologist Trevor Hare and Project Designer Nicole Casebeer will lead volunteers in creating a native plant oasis to help restore the Rillito River'...
We were so excited to witness the Santa Cruz River Heritage Project come online on Monday, June 24 when Tucson Water introduced a ribbon of recycled water to the Santa Cruz River south of downtown! This is an important, and historic, step in WMG's goals to restore flow to Tucson's rivers and streams. Learn more about our restoration work at Watershedmg.org/RRN and check out...
"Creek Walks Inspire" is The Desert Leaf's cover story for July! Lee Allen wrote a wonderful piece about WMG's River Run Network Creek Walks and our work to restore the flow to Tucson's rivers and streams.Read all about it! "Waste Not" is a piece by Arizona Public Media reporter Tony Paniagua, aired on Arizona Illustrated. It's all about composting toilets and how to put human "waste" to...
Check out highlights of our work in 2018, and learn more about our programs and efforts to build community and restore desert rivers and streams!From our collaborative work with Pima County Regional Flood Control District, to features on our amazing volunteers, WMG's work in the Phoenix Valley and our 50-year vision to restore flowing water to desert rivers - you can read all about it here!
2018 was a good year for river restoration, with WMG’s boots on the ground at four major sites including along Ciénega Creek, Tanque Verde Creek, Cañada del Oro River, and the Santa Cruz River. Thanks to a dynamic partnership with the Pima County Regional Flood Control District, WMG’s river restoration team is planning and implementing restoration features to reclaim floodplains, re-establish...
Bernadette Eichelberger first got involved with WMG in early 2018, and jumped in with both feet! She was one of WMG’s Green Living Co-op top hour-earners – volunteering 53 hours of her time at 11 different Co-ops in 2018. She says she enjoys the workshops because she appreciates “the people, their friendliness and commitment to the environment.”Bernadette’s connection to WMG began with her...
WMG’s river restoration work would not be possible without our partnership with Pima County Regional Flood Control District. The District owns and manages a considerable portion of the lands along our major streams and rivers, such as along the Rillito and Santa Cruz Rivers. While the District is charged with minimizing the risk of damage due to flooding and erosion and keeping the public safe,...
The Shah sisters are two of the Green Living Co-op’s youngest volunteers, who got involved with the program about three years ago.“We are both part of the NHS (National Honors Society)/NJHS (National Junior Honors Society) at BASIS Oro Valley, and we collect community service hours as a part of this program. Our mom, who got involved with WMG when we were still little, loved the...
WMG's free, 5-class Hydrate series returns Wednesdays in May! You'll gain knowledge on how to use rainwater and greywater to hydrate your landscape. Plus, you'll learn how going hydro-local reduces your dependency on Colorado River water. You can join us for your favorite topic, or attend the full series to build a comprehensive site plan. Each presentation...
Richard Roati, a Green Living Co-op member since the beginning of the program 10 years ago, first began water harvesting in 1992 by utilizing laundry water for the fruit trees on his property.“When I found out about WMG’s Co-op program, I was super excited that water harvesting know-how was becoming accessible to me and to everyone. I remember attending workshops right away. I attended...
Everyone should be able to harvest the rain! WMG is discounting our services for limited-income households so we can offer installation packages with minimal expense. We are also working with Tucson Old Pueblo Credit Union and their Green Loan program for additional financing options. Read all about it at Watershedmg.org/RainMoney.
It took Marty Johnston several years of being acquainted with WMG before getting his hands into the dirt. He took some WMG water harvesting classes about four years ago, and, he shares, “eventually, after seeing weekly emails that mentioned the Co-op, one week’s email had a photo of butterflies, and I have always wanted a yard full of butterflies, so I decided to attend.” In...
WMG’s Living Lab and Learning Center is our cream of the crop demonstration site and beats the pants off LEED standards! WMG's interactive tours showcase our property's water and energy conservation systems in detail, and will inspire ideas for your own home!Learn more and check out the schedule of tours here.
To our friends, associates, collaborators, donors, sponosors, supporters, and volunteers in the Phoenix Valley:Over the last seven years, WMG has been filling an important niche in the Phoenix area, providing leadership in water harvesting education and implementation, green infrastructure, and urban watershed management. We’d like to continue to fill that important role while...
WMG is looking for volunteers to dedicate a couple of hours each month to take care of local rain garden demonstration sites, and serving as water advocates to the Tucson community! Learn to be a hydro-hero and get equipped with the specialized training, tools, and staff support.Benefits of the program include rewarding outdoor work, free exclusive educational trainings, and a whole lot of...
Have you ever wondered how to harness the desert rains? Do you want to learn what a rain garden is and how creating rain gardens can help change flood conditions by slowing the rainwater? Do you want to know how rain gardens can create a desert oasis for native vegetation and urban wildlife? Then join WMG for our upcoming educational events and workshops! All are free!Get...
WMG is currently accepting applications for a new Associate Director position. We’re seeking someone who is passionate about our mission, is committed to working for a Tucson non-profit, and has director level skills in: fundraising, human resources and personnel management, financial management and oversight, and program development, budgeting, and assessment. Application deadline is January...