BIORETS Santa Cruz River

BIORETS Overview 

Our National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Teachers Sites in the Biological Sciences (BIORETS) was designed to give grades 6-12 science teachers in the Tucson metro area, including the Tohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui Nations, an immersive summer research experience along the Santa Cruz River. The goals of the program are to demonstrate the complexity of our regional water cycle, including re-use of treated wastewater, and how that benefits the biodiversity of aquatic and riparian plants and animals in our city. 

The program includes a six-week, full-time, paid research and professional development experience during the summer, followed by financial and logistical support to develop research projects with your students in the following school year. We also provide significant networking activities to connect teachers with all types of natural resources professionals and education specialists in our community, including agencies (e.g. Tucson Water, Pima County Conservation Lands and Resources), non-profit organizations (e.g. Tucson Audubon), and educational and community science specialists (e.g. National Phenology Network).  

Applications are closed for this summer. For details about the program, visit our BIORETS Teacher Training page. If you would like to be notified of future opportunities for teachers on the Santa Cruz River, please email jmbruhn at arizona.edu to get on our mailing list.

Summer of 2022: Testimonials from our Teachers

"I am so thankful to have been a part of this program. I wish I could do something like this every summer! BIORETS has definitely impacted my teaching practice and I am excited to implement the field techniques and utilize the data resources." - Rachel, 6th grade teacher

"This program was valuable in terms of making me a better teacher but also spiritually. I feel like it brought back the curious child in me. I feel like I got paid to "play" all summer while I learned from professionals in the field, and now I'm full of new ideas that I get to bring back to my students."  - Lydia, 6th grade teacher

"I am excited to use everything from this experience in my classroom. And we learned a lot from the Native communities [in the watershed]. This program actually lived up to University of Arizona's land acknowledgement and included a lot of Native perspectives." - Lana, 6th grade teacher

Schools with BIORETS Teachers