BIORETS 2026 16 teachers kicked off their BIORETS experience with an in-depth tour of the Santa Cruz River, starting at Drexel Road and ending at Crossroads at Silverbell Park in Marana. Teachers spent time at each location field and nature journaling. Bird species data was also collected using Merlin. To learn more about the BIORETS Santa Cruz River Program and meet our 2026-27 school year teachers, visit our Meet BIORETS! page.
Tres Rios Water Reclamation Facility Teachers learned first had what happens to all of the water that goes down the pipes in Tucson during an in-depth tour at Tres Rios Water Reclamation Facility. The group followed the water from when it entered the facility, through different stages of processing, all the way to when it is ready to be returned to the Santa Cruz River or flow into the purple pipe system. The water journey is fascinating, and everyone appreciated learning what it takes to produce Class A effluent.
Field research on the river BIORETS teachers spent their day in Marana learning field research techniques from graduate student mentors. First teachers collected stream samples to learn to identify macroinvertebrates that live in the Santa Cruz River. Teachers learned how to identify adult dragonflies and damselflies as well as safe ways to capture them. They also spent time collecting biometric data on turtles that had been trapped for research purposes.
BIORETS Alumni Poster Session Teachers spent a morning on campus learning from BIORETS alumni teachers at our first annual BIORETS Alumni Symposium. 9 BIORETS teachers present lessons and activities that they have implemented based on their time in the BIORETS program. Posters ranged from how to have riparian habitat tanks on campus to a year long data inquiry project - Data Detectives. Find lots of great lessons and activities BIORETS teachers have created.
