December, 2024
Science Club at the Santa Cruz
Douglas Elementary’s Science Club joined us at the river on a warm Saturday morning this month. The students spent the morning comparing desert and riparian habitats with sound mapping and finding micro-mysteries in the plants around them. Identifying the macroinvertebrates that call the Santa Cruz River their home was a highlight of the morning.
November, 2024
Dragonfly STEAM Night
Dragonflies and the Santa Cruz River were the focus of a STEAM night at Douglas Elementary school this month. Rocio Guzman, PhD student researching dragonflies in Arizona and Mexico, gave a lesson about dragonflies and how scientists have used art for hundreds of years to record and understand phenomena. She taught students (and parents!) how to draw dragonflies and where to find them in Tucson.
October, 2024
Field Seminar for Teachers
Our BIORETS teachers spent a warm Saturday morning this month on the Santa Cruz River learning about biomonitoring. Teachers collected aquatic macroinvertebrate data and discussed ways to monitor and measure water quality using their data along with tolerance values. Teachers sharpened observation skills drawing riparian plants at different scales.
Scientists and Artists at the river
Tracing shadows, identifying damselfly larvae, measuring how much oxygen is in the Santa Cruz River: students have been busy on field trips this month. Many BIORETS teachers are participating in Pima County’s Living River of Words (LROW) Program. Their students spend the morning as field scientists studying aquatic entomology and water quality, as well using the river as inspiration for creating art.
September, 2024
Dragonfly Festival a huge success
The 6th year of the Santa Cruz River Dragonfly Festival was a month-long community celebration of dragonflies who call the Santa Cruz River home. There were 9 tours at 4 locations, 311 Bioblitz observations, an enthusiastic crowd at Bugs and Bites, and two engaging virtual presentations. Check out the news articles about the event on our news page.
August, 2024
Back to school with a BIORETS Teacher
Are you curious about what happens when teachers who spend their summers on the Santa Cruz River return to the classroom? They bring the river with them! Watch the video Ms. Becker created to introduce her students to the river, and the animals that make the Santa Cruz their home.
July, 2024
Watch our Summer Highlights video
We wrapped up a 6 packed weeks of curriculum development, community building, and research on the Santa Cruz River with 13 teachers from 7 school districts. Teachers dove into research in four areas: dragonflies, turtles, plants, and wildlife. Get a taste of summer watching this video that will make you smile.
June, 2024
Welcome teachers!
We have welcomed 13 teachers from 7 school districts to our 3rd summer of BIORETS Santa Cruz River! We have spent time along the Santa Cruz measuring turtles, identifying riparian plants, and observing the impact of reclaimed water on the river. We also welcomed many of our community partners to present to our teachers. We are looking forward to the next 6 weeks!
May, 2024
LROW Awards Ceremony
Wakefield On Monday May 1st, talented Tucson area students were presented with awards at the Pima County Living River of Words (LROW) Youth Poetry and Art Contest. The work on display at Wheeler Library was exceptional, and will be travelling around Tucson (click for schedule). Congratulations to the 6 student winners who have teachers that were part of the 2023-24 BIORETS Program. Check out all of the winning submissions in the 2024 LROW Booklet.
Mr. Sanz Navaro, Roskruge Bilingual K-8 poetry: Eleanor Cleaver and Ezekíel Torrez
Ms. Nina Hipps, Safford K-8 watercolor: Mark Diaz
Mr. Dukes, University High School poetry and photography: Izabel Castillo, Mallory O’Brien, and Brandon Wilson
Bringing the River to Campus
Middle schoolers from Safford K-8 spent a warm morning immersed in collecting data on the Santa Cruz River in Marana. They gathered data on aquatic invertebrates, plants, and recorded careful observations in nature drawings. Students were excited to bring what they learned back to their campus where they have been helping install a schoolyard pond.
April, 2024
Wakefield MS Field Trip
Wakefield middle school students conducted riparian plant surveys, learned how to identify aquatic macroinvertebrates, and completed detailed nature drawings during two half day field trips to the Santa Cruz River. The 81 6th graders will analyze and graph their data back at school. Students also learned about adult dragonflies and finished their day touching the wings of an American Rubyspot damselfly.
Ecological Monitoring at Heritage
BIORETS Teachers from the 2022 and 2023 BIORETS Programs gathered to conduct ecological monitoring at the Heritage Project in downtown Tucson in mid April. In addition to working on tracking Sonoran mud turtles, teachers relocated fish into the main riparian area and staked the area in preparation for construction. Teachers continued discussions on the best ways to build curriculum materials focused on place based learning centered on the Santa Cruz River. As always, trash was collected!
March, 2024
Riparian Plant Field Trip
More than 40 seniors from University High School spent a warm March morning collecting data on trash, learning about riparian plants, and working with Michael Bogan on water quality assessment. Because these students are building a river habitat on their school campus, studying riparian plants and riparian habitat was a major focus of this unique field trip.
Mansfeld Students at the river
The BIORETS team welcomed nearly 70 Mansfeld MS students, parents, and teachers to the Santa Cruz on a cool March morning. The 8th graders were immersed in collecting data on aquatic macroinvertebrates, trash, and riparian plants. And they collected over 150lbs of trash!
February, 2024
ASDB Students Jump In
A group of high school students from Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) joined us at the Santa Cruz River on a cool February morning. Students started with creating sound maps and collecting bird and weather data before walking down to the river. They were busy on the riverbank testing water quality, identifying aquatic insects, and touching fish and turtles who call the river home. Students used a variety of assistive technologies during the field experience. Everyone had a great time jumping into both the science of riparian habitats and the water!
Students Gather Data and Trash
Thank you Rincon High School Honors Biology students for collecting over 100 pounds of trash as part of their field trip to the Santa Cruz River in February! The 24 students visited the river to add data to their study of human impacts on ecosystems. In addition to collecting data on birds (13 birds recorded in 10 minutes), they studied aquatic insects and worked hard to clean the Heritage site. The Santa Cruz River is an unique learning environment for students and teachers in Tucson.
January, 2024
River Cleanups Make a Difference
One river cleanup happened in the sunshine, the next one a day later in the rain. Both groups collected trash, built community, and made a difference for the many creatures that call the Santa Cruz their home. The Santa Cruz River Heritage Project area is habitat for two endangered species: the recently re-introduced Sonoran mud turtle and native Gila topminnow. Keeping this area clean is vital. Thank you volunteers!
Students Learn from the Santa Cruz
January is for field trips! Nearly 90 students from Roskruge Bilingual Magnet K-8 participated in the Pima County Living River of Words (LROW) Program on the Santa Cruz River to test water quality, write poetry, and study aquatic invertebrates. Later that week, 20 UArizona undergraduate and graduate students were on the river collecting macroinvertebrate samples for their Aquatic Entomology class.
2023 River Dispatches
Read our 2023 dispatches and learn about field trips, Dragonfly Day, and more!
