Free Screening This Sunday!

Award-Winning Documentary

"Common Ground"

May 18th, 2:00pm-4:30pm

First Christian Church

740 E. Speedway Blvd. Tucson, Az 85719

Arizona Interfaith Power and Light, along with Living Desert Alliance, is co-sponsoring a FREE screening of the award-winning documentary Common Ground by the makers of Kiss the Ground.

These films are a groundbreaking examination of how the industrial food system can be converted to regenerative agriculture to help heal the soil and the climate, while providing healthier food and conserving water. 

Click here to review the informational flyer in detail.

Please forward to family and friends and your newsletters and/or social media sites. Spread the word about this informative & important event.

U of A

Water Resources Research Center

Seminar Series

Green Infrastructure in Tucson, AZ

Zoom Presentation

12:00 to 1:15 pm, May 17th

Join in on this WRRC seminar to hear a brief history of water management in Tucson from Adriana Zuniga and how this desert city became a leader in green infrastructure in the country.

Blue Baldwin will then present an overview of the modern evolution of green stormwater infrastructure in Tucson over the past decades, from grassroots, "pre-legal" actions to current policy and ultimate institutionalization with the advent of the Storm to Shade (S2S) Program at Tucson Water. The Storm to Shade program's goals, project prioritization framework, maintenance program, key partnerships, challenges, and long-term vision for the S2S will be covered.

This Zoom Presentation is free and open to everyone.

Click here for more information and day of event the Zoom Link

Click below for direct link to the PDF’s of:

Green infrastructure in Tucson, AZ

Storm to Shade presentation.

Lots of valuable history and information is contained in each document. 

Pima County Sets New Climate Reduction Goals

New goals will further greenhouse gas reduction!

On May 6th, The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 vote to renew its commitment to reduce the effects of County operations on the climate and directed County staff to take actions and adopt policies that seek to mitigate or reverse the effect of climate change in the County.

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The new resolution directs staff to move beyond a sustainability plan and craft a Climate Action Plan for County Operations (CAPCO) that, among other things, meets or exceeds the goals of 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and increases the County’s 2030 target for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to 60 percent of 2021 levels. The previous target was 52 percent.

This is great news for our community shows the county's continued commitment of protecting our environment. Their action helps Keep our Desert and Community Livable and Thriving not only now, but for future generations.

Click here to review the entire Pima County News Bulletin

containing additional information and goals.

Mission Garden

Offering classes promoting agricultural education and techniques combining traditional knowledge with modern science

Mission Garden is one of the key projects of Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization

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Mission Garden’s multi-generational, outdoor, hands-on educational setting encourages interactive exchange of traditional knowledge gathered from diverse community elders and historical documents.

By exclusively growing heritage crops and heirloom trees, they aspire to test, refine, and evaluate the practical wisdom of long-term arid-adapted agricultural practices.

The basis of their educational template is to exchange and promote agricultural techniques that combine traditional knowledge with modern science.

Mission Garden offers free entry. Events and classes are free to anyone of all ages unless otherwise noted. Here are a few events scheduled for May.

May 15: Summer Sunsets at Mission Garden

May 17: Traditional O’odham Agriculture

May 24: Archeology Day: Special fun for the kids!

Click Here for a full schedule of upcoming events.

Take a minute to review their website and explore more information about this important community outreach organization.

Airline Lambert Water Treatment Facility Tour

Educational & Informative

Yesterday, members of the Living Desert Alliance and the Rotary Club of Tucson Verde attended an informative and educational tour of Marana’s Airline Lambert Water Treatment Facility. 

The tour, led by Johnny (JR) Arvizu, the Town of Marana’s Chief Water Quality Operator along with Andrew Bahr, Water Quality Specialist and Tony Almader, Water Quality Technician walked our group through Marana's water purification process, starting from where well water is drawn from 850 ft deep aquifers all the way to the final process of chlorination and release to the public.

The Airline Lambert Water Treatment Facility processes approximately 1.5 million gallons of water daily, running each drop through a purification process that includes:

• De-sanding: Used to remove suspended solids like sand, stones, etc.
• Hydrogen peroxide: Eliminating bacteria, viruses, PFAS and other contaminants.
• Filtration: Small mesh filters used to catch smaller particles that might have slipped past the de-sanding process.
• Ultraviolet Lights: Neutralizes infectious microorganisms.
• GAC’s: Granular Activated Carbon. Further purification.
• Chlorination: Kills bacteria, parasites, and viruses that can cause illness or disease.

Only after all of these processes are completed will the treated water be released into the community.

By the end of the tour, we were all impressed by the detailed work performed daily by such a great group of dedicated professionals working to assure our community has a safe and secure water supply.

A special thanks to JR, Andrew, Tony and all the Marana Water Team for their excellent work. We are fortunate to have such dedicated professionals responsible for keeping our community’s water safe and reliable.

Volunteers Needed to Care for the Tanque Verde Creek

Watershed Management Group is looking for volunteers to participate in the upcoming Thursday or Saturday morning restoration workshops. 

Rise and shine and care for the creek by removing invasive Arundo with their team to restore flows and the riparian forest.

Just 5 workshops remain before they take a break for the summer!

Sign up today by clicking on one of the dates below:

• Saturday, May 17th @ 7:30am - 10:30am
• Saturday, May 24th @ 7:30am - 10:30am
• Last Day: Saturday, May 31st @ 7:30am - 10:30am

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

SAVE OUR SAGUAROS!

Beat Back Buffalograss and Stinknet

Join the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM) and volunteer to combat invasive plants such as buffelgrass, stinknet and arundo.

Buffelgrass out-competes saguaros for space, nutrients and water. It also poses a serious fire risk both in the desert and in our city. Join others in their efforts to combat this weed. There will be live Desert Museum animals, tasty pastries and more.

Click here for links to multiple invasive plant removal events.

Click here to learn Stinknet from Stinket.org, a community of volunteers working in tandem with the ASDM to fight and stop the spread of this weed.

Pima County Seeks Community’s Input

on Climate Plan

Series of public input sessions through June 2025

Pima County and its coalition partners are holding a series of public sessions beginning April 3rd and running through the end of June, with each one dedicated to focusing on reduction measures for greenhouse gas emissions from seven different sectors. See our March 27th newsletter for additional details.

All sessions are free and open to the public.

To register for any of them, visit: www.pima.gov/ClimatePlan.