Earth Grant Blog

This past May, Earth Grant’s Program Assistant, Lexis, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and is moving on to the ‘real world’. During their freshman year, Lexis was in the inaugural Earth Grant cohort in 2021 and was then hired as the first Program Assistant where they supported the program for three years.

We asked Lexis some parting questions to celebrate their participation in Earth Grant during their college career.

A Note from the Author:

“Hello! My Name is Clay Begay, Sierra Club Borderlands Intern, I am a junior studying Agricultural Economics. I joined the Borderlands group for an outing to Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge and had an incredible time. I hope my story and pictures will give it justice."

The Cooper Center for Environmental Learning ­– known as Camp Cooper to the Tucson community – will celebrate both its milestone 60th anniversary and the completion of its $2.7 million master plan phase one renovation on Nov. 16 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a FREE community event open to the public.

Come on out to the Cooper Center this Saturday! Family Nature Day will be taking place from 8:30am-12:00pm at 5403 W Trails End Rd 85745 in Tucson. Admission is free, everyone is welcome, and snacks, water, and sunscreen are highly recommended. You can register ahead of time here. We’ll see you there!

On Friday September 6th, the Earth Grant community came together to participate in an activity that we’ve facilitated at every annual intern-mentor orientation, an activity geared towards supporting impactful and growth-oriented experiences for both our students and our mentors. In order for us all to be able to learn and grow together over this next academic year, we need to first learn more about each other and the values and beliefs that we each carry to establish a mutual understanding of the behaviors and expectations that we will hold both ourselves and each other accountable to throughout our time together.

October may not be full of fall foliage here in the Sonoran Desert, but it is certainly a time of change and movement! With winds flowing and cooler temperatures moving in, community spaces all across Tucson are starting to hold gatherings and events outdoors again, and the Sonoran Institute is moving right along with them!

Meet Maya Tainatongo! A native Tucsonan and passionate community member, Maya shares their past experiences in the Earth Grant program and how it has strengthened her impactful and collaborative work in conservation and community building.

Meet Samantha and Maria Mata! Sisters and Earth Grant alums, these young leaders share their past experiences in the Earth Grant program and how it has strengthened their impactful work in public health, education, and city planning.

Meet Olya Weekley, a Wildcat alumni and new Earth Grant mentor, working as the Applied Conservation Project Manager at Tucson Audubon.

Meet Melissa Cordero, an Earth Grant mentor, as she tells us about her professional journey and current work at the Sonoran Institute, based in Tucson.