Celebrate AZ Water: Bringing Water Back to Tucson’s Birthplace – the Santa Cruz River Heritage Project
Some 4,000 years ago, ancestors of the Hohokam people settled at the base of (what is now known as) Tucson’s A Mountain on the banks of the Santa Cruz river. At that time, the river flowed year-round and supported lush woodlands of cottonwood, willow, and mesquite. These people created an extensive system of… Read More
Arizona Runs on Water: Scarcity, Challenges, and Community-based Solutions (2019 WRRC Annual Conference)
How do Arizona communities ensure that they have sufficient water to meet their future needs? The University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center’s February 1, 2019, annual conference, Arizona Runs on Water: Scarcity, Challenges, and Community-based Solutions will examine answers to this question. Communities across Arizona are working to identify and… Read More
Why We’re for Water: Take the Pledge Today
“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” — Jacques Cousteau Arguably, water is cheap. In the United States, on average, tap water costs less than $3 for 1,000 gallons — or mere fractions of a penny per gallon. Compare that to the cost of bottled… Read More
Celebrate AZ Water – New Arizona Prize: Mesa (And You) Win the Water Public Art Challenge
A piece of sculpture at a public intersection was once considered public art. Things have changed. Public art has become more of an event, such as a community mural designed and painted through a partnership between an artist and neighbors. The City of Mesa has taken this idea to sophisticated levels…. Read More
Celebrate AZ Water: Turning the Bend at River Bend — Successful Restoration on the Agua Fria River
Welcome to a steamy July morning on the Agua Fria River near Cordes Junction, Arizona. Humid, heavy air hangs above young willows laid flat by recent heavy flows. We slop through thick, mocha colored mud to the mechanical whir of cicadas, and screams of nesting Zone-tailed Hawks. While searching for… Read More
The Edible Gardening Series: Did Thy Garden Runneth Over (With Rain)?
All good things must come to an end, and so too must our four-part series on water-wise edible gardening. (Sad face.) To catch up on where we’ve been so far: we’ve gone over the basics, introduced you to some lesser-known desert delicacies, and let you in on the secret awesomeness… Read More
The Edible Gardening Series: Save The Seeds!
Welcome to the third installment of our early fall series on water-wise edible gardening. So far, we’ve talked about The Basics of Water-Wise Edible Gardening and introduced you to harvesting edibles from the landscape in our blog Putting The Desert In Dessert. Now it’s time to talk about seed saving… Read More
THIS LOCAL ARIZONA FESTIVAL HAS A PASSION FOR SUSTAINABILITY
At a time when being eco-conscious is more trendy than it’s ever been, it is still not uncommon to find the only source of water in a public space to be an overpriced container of bottled water. While often a result of convenience, a consumer’s desire for an alternative to… Read More
The Edible Gardening Series: Putting The Desert In Dessert
We’re back with the second part of our four-part series on edible gardening! Did you miss us? We missed you! Last time we introduced you to the basics of water-wise edible gardening, and now that we’ve given you a week to mulch, plant and tend to your bountiful harvest (maybe),… Read More
CELEBRATE AZ WATER: 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN PROJECT ACT
On September 30, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson, signed into law the Colorado River Basin Project Act. Fifty years is a long time, especially to those who have lived that long, but to understand the impact of the Colorado River Basin Project Act, I actually think you need to look… Read More
