Caring for Local Waterways as Essential Community Spaces
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!
A local environmental non-profit, the Sonoran Institute works throughout the West and northern Mexico to connect people with the natural resources that nourish and sustain them. Locally, the Santa Cruz River program works directly with residents and the environment in southern Arizona and northern Sonora to create a healthy, flowing Santa Cruz River from Mexico to Marana. On Saturday, October 12th from 9 to 11 am at 2301 Forbes Road in Tucson, the Sonoran Institute will be holding a trash cleanup on the Santa Cruz River and invites those able to please join! It is a fantastic community event overflowing with music, food trucks, and lots of river-loving vibes!
Trash cleanups are a staple of this local organization’s event calendar, but they’re about a whole lot more than picking up garbage. Community members get to spend time outside, have fun, and build relationships with their neighbors, including the Santa Cruz River itself and all the plants and critters who call it home. The trash that gets picked up is no longer destined to litter the waterways of Tucson, and it gets added to a database that the Sonoran Institute utilizes to study the causes of pollution in the Santa Cruz and learn how best to remove and mitigate trash in the future.
With mentorship from Luke Cole, the director of the Santa Cruz River program of the Sonoran Institute, Earth Grant interns Nic Richards and Andrew Fortman will be some of the lucky few who get to document the trash that volunteers collect. Throughout the cleanup, Nic and Andrew will be collecting the weight and location of trash gathered by local community members, with some past events totaling up to 5,000 pounds of trash cleaned out of the Santa Cruz! With monsoon season coming to a close, littered streets have been washed clean, but the rainwater that cleanses our city also drains into the Santa Cruz River. By organizing these river cleanups, organizations like the Sonoran Institute provide opportunities to show our gratitude for the river that cares for us by caring for it in return, and by planning for a cleaner future using their study.
There are so many ways to move through the world more mindfully and intentionally make decisions that reduce the amount of waste we produce, as individuals and as communities, but this upcoming community gathering is a great way to kickstart your new journey! So don’t forget, the Sonoran Institute’s river cleanup will be taking place at 2301 Forbes Road in Tucson on Saturday, October 12th from 9 to 11 am. You can find the registration link and more info here. Let’s show the Santa Cruz some love!
