The Tanque Verde is a verdant intermitent creek running west from the base of the Rincon Mountains East of Tucson. Due to the shallow groundwater table at the headwaters, Cottonwood, Willow and other riparian tree species make this creek their home. In turn, bird, mammal, repitilian and an entrie ecosystem of life has grown along the banks of this water source.
For this volunteer workshop, we will be harvesting three main species of riparian plants; Seep Willow (Baccharis salicifolia), Goodding's Willow (Salix gooddingii) and Freemont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii). All three species have the ability to sprout new roots when soaked in water, making them adapatable to floods that frequently occur in the places they live and evolved. The plants we harvest will later be brought to an ongoing river restoration site on the Bobocomari River, a tributary of the San Pedro River.
Join us for a morning in the riparian area as we harvest poles using loppers, clippers and handsaws. We'll discuss ethical harvest techniques and local ecology.
Come prepared to have fun and get your feet wet, as (hopefully) the creek will be flowing with winter rains!
This is one workshop in a series; please join us again on February 7-8, 2025 at the Babocomari River project site to build PALS (post assissted log structures) and plant the poles we harvest. Check out our event calendar for these other workshops and more this spring.