SAVE THE DATE! Arizona Botany Meeting February 18-19 Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Click here for more information Click here for Registration |
Tucson ChapterPresident- Carianne Funicelli Campbell, emailVice-President-Deb Green, emailSecretary-Greta Anderson, email Treasurer-Diane Kelly, emailField Trips- John Scheuring, email Programs- Marilyn Hanson, emailMonthly programs are held on the second Wednesday of each month from September through May, beginning at 7:00pm at the Arizona Game & Fish Office, 555 N Greasewood (west side of road between Speedway & Anklam). Look for the AZNPS sign board that marks the driveway. Download our 2011-2012 Speaker Schedule by clicking here.JOIN OUR CHAPTER E-LIST: To keep up with the latest, join the chapter e-list. You will be contacted about events, conferences, outings, workshops, and volunteer opportunities in our area. Don't forget to keep us updated on email address changes, as well as postal address changes. It will save AZNPS money! Send your request to Carianne Funicelli Campbell, email. |
2011 Tucson Xeriscape ContestCynthia P. Reiners, AZNPS member, won first place in the Homeowners Division. For more information about the annual competition click here. |
2011-2012 SEASON MONTHLY MEETINGS
The speaker schedule for the 2011-2012 monthly meetings is now available on a flyer. Please make a copy for yourself and spread the word to others. Consider posting the schedule on appropriate locations around Tucson. For a copy of the schedule, click here.
2011/12 Winter Program
Wednesday, December 14: Don Swann - “The 2010 Saguaro Census”
Don Swann will present the results of the 2010 Saguaro Census, a once-a-decade "citizen science" program that Saguaro National Park uses to monitor its signature plant. He will also speak about the ecological history of the park, which was established in 1933. Don's presentation will focus on the census, recent saguaro mapping projects at the park, the relationship between saguaros and climate.
Wednesday, January 11: Greg Starr- “Cool Plant Combinations for Hot Tucson Gardens”
Greg Starr will discuss some cool plants for hot gardens and discuss using them in interesting combinations. He will show pretty pictures of many awesome plants all while enticing you to go out on a limb and use your imagination. Who knows what incredible combination is lurking deep within your subconscious waiting to grace your landscape.
Wednesday, February 8: Margaret Pope- “Preserving and Promoting Botanical Art of The Sonoran Desert Region”
Historically the relationship between botany and art has helped inform physicians, botanists, gardeners, amateur botanists and the general public about plants. Following in this tradition The Sonoran Desert Florilegium Program is working to preserve and promote the work of past and present botanical illustrators and artists. The program is designed to create, collect, exhibit and store botanical images for research, education, documentation and aesthetic appreciation. Our vision is to develop an awareness within the general public of the aesthetic value and ecological importance of plants as an aid to conserve and protect our Sonoran Desert flora.
2011/12 Winter Field Trips
NOTE: If there are those who do not have email and want to register for one of the following field trips, please call Diane Kelly at 520-531-0963.
March 3-5: Botany Trip to the Pinacates
Join Tom and Ana Lilia van Devender and Mark Dimmitt on a botany trip to the Pinacates 3-5 March 2012. We will leave Tucson at 7 am on Saturday 3 March and be back late Monday March 5th. We will carpool in high clearance vehicles and camp under primitive conditions at an established campground in the Pinacate Biosphere Reserve. We will need to bring all our own water.
Meet : 7am at the IHOP on Grant Rd just west of I-10.
AZNPS current members only.
Group size limit :15
Please RSVP to Diane Kelly : plants@timdarby.net
Saturday, December 3: Landscape Restoration Work-day in the Watermans :
8-12am.
AZNPS joins Tucson Audubon and Sierra Club volunteers to install rock berms, check dams, and tree planting holes in the 18 acre scar at the base of the Watermans which was heavily infested with buffelgrass 2002-2008, but now is well on the way to natural desert restoration. This site was formally known as the Harlow Jones site, and has been renamed the Allyson Kumataka Memorial Restoration site.
We will meet at 8am in the Marana Airport parking lot on Avra Valley Road about 5 miles west of I-10. Wear sturdy boots and bring work gloves. All tools will be provided by BLM.
Please RSVP to Diane Kelly : plants@timdarby.net
Thursday, October 13: Grass ID class at the Audubon
Research Ranch
On October 12, Tucson and Cochise AZNPS members met up at the Audubon Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch near Elgin, only 15 miles from the border.
Linda Kennedy, Research Ranch Director and grass specialist presented a general overview of Arizona grasslands and grasses. She focused the workshop on the identification of 18 native and 4 exotic species. We took a walk in the nearby grassland and identified all the species that we had learned in the workshop. This was a most productive day for all of us, thanks to Linda Kennedy !
Saturday, September 17, 2011: Water Harvest Landscapes at the Tucson Cooperative Housing Communities
Grant McCormick led 10 members of AZNPS on a visit to Stone Curve and Sonora cooperative housing properties on the near north side of Tucson. The Stone Curve tour was hosted by Dan and Gina Kruse and the "Green Team" who maintain the landscapes of the community. We were amazed by the native plant greenery that benefits from passive and active water harvesting on every inch of the property. Each of the five "villages" of the community picked out their own native plant palette, resulting in rich plant diversity.
The Sonora community has a water harvesting hardscape throughout and the resulting greenery is amazing. Bird and butterfly life abounds. Kudos to the residents of these hidden Tucson gems.
August 28, 2011: Tumacacori Specialties
Jim Verrier led a botany tour to Rock Corral Canyon in the Tumacacoris. About 14 AZNPS members and friends traveled over a rough Forest Service road to the canyon to enjoy the plants, the birds and butterflies in this isolated area in the Tumacacori Mountains. Jim Verrier, Dave Bertelsen and Rod Mondt shared their knowledge about the richness of the area. For a photo report, go to this link.
Anoda cristata, Spurred Anoda
Rynchosida physocalyx , Bladderpod Sida from http://www.fireflyforest.com
August 21, 2011: Santa Rita Mountains Wildflower Hike
Pima County naturalist Meg Quinn led a wildflower hike on the Josephine Saddle Loop trail in the Santa Rita Mountains. During the six-mile loop, the group saw a wide variety of wildflowers under comfortable overcast skies. The highlights were two different orchids (Malaxis corymbosa and M. soulei) and a slope covered with Red Cinquefoil (Potentilla thurberii)
May 8, 2011- Visit to a Diversity "Hotspot" in the Ragged Top Mountains
John Wiens led a group of 14 AZNPS members to Ragged Top's “diversity hotspot” where 153 species were identified during the ASDM survey of Ironwood Forest National Monument. The saguaros, ironwoods and creosote were in full bloom. A cooling breeze allowed for a very pleasant walk in a wash west of the ragged volcanic peaks. Click here for a photo report.
Weed Warrior Activities
For more information about the volunteer effort against the spread of buffelgrass, visit the Sonoran Desert Weedwacker page.
Multiple Dates: Buffelgrass and Fountain Grass Removal
1) Sonoran Desert Weedwackers, Tucson Mountain Park work, third Saturday of each month. To volunteer, contact Marilyn Hanson by email
2) Sonoran Desert Weedwackers, Saguaro National Park East work the second Saturday of each month, meeting at the Visitor Center of the Rincon Mt. District. To volunteer, contact Bethany Hontz by email or 520-733-5187.
3) Tanque Verde Valley Weedwackers work the first Saturday of each month. For more info, contact Ann Hollis by email.
4) Oro Valley Buffel Busters work the second Saturday of each month. For more info, contact Carmen Ryan at 520-229-5070.
5) Sabino Canyon Weedwackers work the fourth Saturday of every month. Contact Sharon Biedenbender, Acting Invasive Species Coordinator, Coronado NF by email or 520-559-2762.
Tohono Chul Park Plant Walks Every month of the year, and are included in the admission price. No reservations necessary:
· Connecting Plants and People. 1st Saturday of the month 10am. Discover the edible and useful plants of the Sonoran Desert.
· The Great Xeriscape. 3rd Saturday of the month at 10am. Unearth the how-to’s for using native and arid-adapted plants in water-saving landscapes.
· Walk in the Park. Tours are offered every day (except Sunday) at 9:00am and 1:00pm. Experience Tohono Chul Park while learning some of the basics of the ecology of the Sonoran Desert.
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Southern Arizona Nature Almanac Floristic almanac: This month-to-month guide to some of the main floristic events in southern Arizona is excerpted or summarized, with permission, from Southern Arizona Nature Almanac, by Roseann Beggy Hanson and Jonathan Hanson (University of Arizona Press, 1996). This charming natural history guide is chock-full of insights, observations, stories, and suggestions for outings into the never-ending wonder of the Sonoran Desert. In Tucson, look for the book at the Audubon Nature Shop, Blue Raven Gallery, Tohono Chul Park, or other booksellers.FEBRUARY AT A GLANCEPrint February Almanac...DESERTSCRUB• Wildflowers begin blooming this month.• Sara orange-tip (Anthocharis sara) and Pima orange-tip (A. pima) butterflies herald the arrival of spring in the desert.• On warm days you might begin to see lizards basking in the sun.• Antelope ground squirrels bear five to nine young in underground nest chambers lined with hair and grass.• Some of the desert birds that begin mating and nesting this month are Gila woodpeckers, Costa's and Anna's hummingbirds, and great horned owls.GRASSLANDS.......OAK WOODLANDS......PINE-OAK WOODLANDS......CONIFEROUS FORESTS.......IN THE SKY...... |