March, 2025
Art Practice in Community
March began with a community art making gathering on the river: Landing Place – art practice in community at the Santa Cruz River. Over 30 people spent the afternoon observing, drawing, painting and being together in art practice. Consider joining us March 30 and April 13 for the next two sessions.
ASDB Turtle Research
Middle school students from Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind spent 4 days at the river conducting field research on turtles. Before going to the river, students learned about turtles and habitat factors that influence turtle abundance. Once at the river, they picked multiple habitat factors to measure, and with help from Michael Bogan and his students, placed traps in 4 locations. On the final day, students weighed and measured 4 turtles that had been trapped. We look forward to the students sharing their field research data. Thank you to the ASDB community for supporting this trip, and to our ASL translators from UA.
February, 2025
Dodge 7th Graders Study the Santa Cruz
Over 125 7th graders from Dodge Middle School (TUSD) are spending time at the river this month. The first group met an invasive turtle (Spiny soft shell) after measuring water quality, studying aquatic macroinvertebrates, and learning about the differences between riparian and desert habitat.
Los Niños Hiking Club
A curious and enthusiastic group of 4th and 5th graders from Los Niños Elementary School's Hiking Club spent a busy Saturday morning at the Santa Cruz. Students created sound maps, listening for birds in the park and at the river’s edge. They studied riparian plants and macroinvertebrates, and worked on telling the story of their field trip.
Baboquivari Field Study
We welcomed 9th grade biology students from Baboquivari High School to the river on a cool Wednesday morning. Students created soundscapes, learned about riparian plants, and how plant data is collected. Students also studied water quality along with aquatic macroinvertebrate identification.
Field Seminar for Teachers
Our BIORETS teachers conducted bird surveys at Sweetwater Wetlands on a bright Sunday morning this month. Teachers made observations on numbers and types of birds seen at three locations, and visualized their data as a group. BIORETS teachers practice field data collection and visualization quarterly as part of their teacher research program.
January, 2025
Thank you Hendricks' 6th Graders!
Hendricks Elementary’s 6th graders made a difference in January at the Santa Cruz River Heritage Project. They worked hard collecting and quantifying trash in the river in downtown Tucson. They studied aquatic macroinvertebrates and riparian plants. We appreciate their hard work!
2024 River Dispatches
Read our 2024 dispatches and learn about field trips, teacher research, and more!
2023 River Dispatches
Read our 2023 dispatches and learn about field trips, Dragonfly Day, and more!