Community Partners

Bisbee Science Lab
2023-2024

 

 

The Bisbee Science Lab is a non-profit organization that creates opportunities for the development of scientific literacy and innovative solutions in order to build resiliency in Bisbee, AZ - a rural borderland community. The Bisbee Science Center, in conjunction with Bisbee Unified School District, Copper Queen Library, and the city of Bisbee, are working to redesign the 8 acre back yard of their property into a versatile public space. This is the project Liverman Scholars were recruited to help with. While right now the land is fairly barren, they have been working hard to create property plans and schematic designs with are nearing completion. 

One of the goals of the Bisbee Science Lab backyard is to provide a public, educational outdoor space for families to play, learn, explore, and grow together. Their goal is to have the backyard open to the public even when the Bisbee Science Lab is closed, and with that they needed to ensure they have structures in place for visitors to safely engage with the property while staff isn't present. This led to the 2023-2024 Diana Liverman Scholars creating a virtual, interactive, map featuring information about the different proposed stations in the back yard including composting sites, the ampitheater, native plants, research sites, and more. 

Flowers and Bullets Midtown Farm
2023-2024

The Flowers and Bullets Midtown Farm is a community farm in the Barrio Central Neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona. This organization is dedicated to reclaiming the cultural roots of the area and amplifying them through sustainability, art, and rebellion to heal and empower their neighborhood and larger community. The Flowers and Bullets Midtown Farm hosts many projects and learning experiences including composting, growing and harvesting blue corn, raising goats and chickens, presenting community workshops, and more. 

The Liverman Scholars first visited the Midtown Farm in Fall 2023, and half of the cohort continued to work with Flowers and Bullets for the remainder of the year. Through many conversations surrounding needs and goals of the organization, these scholars planned and hosted a fundraiser event at Hotel Congress to raise money for Flowers and Bullets in April 2024. The fundraiser featured live music from local bands, talks about Flowers and Bullets, and a silent auction with items and services donated from local businesses in Tucson. This event raised over $1,800 for Flowers and Bullets and brought many local businesses and nonprofits together for the evening. 

Project Roots

2022-2023

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Project Roots is a non-profit dedicated to food security and equity. Home to two community gardens - one in south Phoenix and one in Maricopa - Project Roots provides community self- sufficiency programs, food and a mobile kitchen for people who are unhoused, and seasonal produce box subscriptions.

The 2022-23 Liverman cohort visited Project Roots in October of 2022, and met with Dionne Washington, Project Roots’ cofounder, to better understand the organizations’ primary communication needs. Following the visit and meeting, Liverman Scholars created a range of communication pieces to meet Project Roots’ needs, including directional maps, potting labels for school programs, an updated website design, and an agrivoltaics (solar-water-energy) blueprint proposal. To see the final pieces, please visit the gallery below.

Cascabel Conservation Association

2021-2022

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Cascabel Conservation Association is located in the middle San Pedro River Valley and is dedicated to the collaborative stewardship of its land, water, and living beings through a distinct conservation ethos. CCA founds this ethos on the belief that conservation comes from the relationship of people with the land. To that end, CCA offers a hermitage program, a community garden, and a conservation program, all aimed at connecting people with the land and fostering a sense of communion with all living beings. The basis of this perspective can be found in the Land Covenant.

The inaugural cohort (2021-2022) of Liverman scholars worked in collaboration with Cascabel Conservation Association to create a series of communication pieces. These included a website, written and visual reflections for the CCA’s annual newsletter, and a guided visual and audio meditation. To see the final pieces, please visit our gallery.

Friends of Ironwood Forest National Monument

2021-2022

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Ironwood Forest National Monument was created in 2000 and gets its name from an important native tree species which is found in high concentrations here.  It protects 129,000 acres of prime Sonoran Desert habitat west and north of Tucson. The monument contains several small mountain ranges, a thriving population of desert bighorn sheep, and a variety of scenic, saguaro-filled landscapes, as well as historic, cultural, and archeological sites. Friends of Ironwood Forest is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and informed management of the natural and cultural resources of Ironwood Forest National Monument. The organization is led by a small all-volunteer board of area residents who use education, community outreach and advocacy to help fulfill the organization's mission.  

The inaugural cohort (2021-2022) of Liverman scholars worked in collaboration with Friends of Ironwood Forest to create a series of communication pieces to further engage the public in the protection of the monument. The focal product was a portfolio of social media posts to raise awareness of and increase visitorship to the monument.