Grassification and Fire Resilience in the Sonoran Desert’ Grant Project Recipients
We are pleased to announce the recipients of our ‘grassification’ project grants:
Art Project Grant Recipient: Serena Tang
Serena Tang will host community workshops to create a series of postcards to showcase how invasive species are altering the Sonoran Desert. Each card will be made out of compostable paper embedded with native seeds. The cards will have artwork that show how to identify invasive species, their threat to the desert, and a call to action. The cards are designed to be planted, allowing native plants to compete with these invasive species.
Film Project Grant Recipient: David Fenster
David Fenster’s “The Many Lives of Buffelgrass” is a documentary exploring how buffelgrass has become a major ecological threat. Blending science, history, and community storytelling, the film examines how this invasive species alters desert ecosystems, fuels dangerous wildfires, and impacts both wildlife and human communities. The documentary also highlights innovative local responses, including David Walker’s collaboration with Nosotros Academy students to remove buffelgrass and repurpose it into adobe bricks. Through this creative lens, the film invites viewers to consider how we might respond to an invasive species that is fully established.
Science Communication Grant Recipient: Alex! Jimenez
Alex! Jimenez will build and illustrate a series of wooden cut-outs depicting both invasive and native grass species. These life-size cut-outs will be installed along trails or pathways in accessible desert settings where passersby can use them to learn how to identify and differentiate each species. Alex will also develop a printed brochure that will guide people through a scavenger hunt-like search to find and learn about each of the species.
Save the Date:
Grant Project Reception at MOCA Tucson Saturday, May 23, 2026 from 6pm - 9pm
Please join us for a public unveiling of the innovative projects from our ‘grassification’ grant winners: Serena Tang, David Fenster, and Alex! Jimenez.