We have some very exciting news from a Desert Museum supporter! Doris Manning is celebrating her 100th birthday this month! 

Several years after retiring as professor emeritus from the University of Arizona, Doris participated in training offered by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to become a docent at the Desert Museum. Upon graduating in 1987, she embraced the mission of fostering love, appreciation and understanding of the Sonoran Desert with enthusiasm and passion. For over 30 years her smile has been a welcoming beacon for visitors, and her knowledge of the natural history of the Sonoran Desert has been awe-inspiring! Countless visitors have left the Desert Museum inspired by their interactions with her to continue learning about the plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert and how they can preserve them.

Doris’s curiosity and determination resulted in her becoming a self-taught botanist who has helped the Desert Museum’s botany department collect data on agaves. She has contributed information for about 3,000 Sonoran Desert plants to their digital library, and collected plants in Alamos, Mexico with Desert Museum research scientists!

If you are at the Butterfly Garden (at the Desert Museum), be sure to check out the brochure Butterflies in Your Garden, which Doris co-developed! Doris has become a legend in her Monday docent family at the Desert Museum and has been their go-to source of information about Sonoran Desert plants for years. The Museum has recognized the thousands of hours Doris contributed as a docent and as a volunteer helping both with courses offered to the public and at the the Desert Museum art gallery.

At age 99, she received their highest honor available when she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. With the devoted help of her fellow Monday docents, Doris continues to spread joy and offer insight on the grounds of the Museum.

We are encouraging donations in honor of Doris this month! You will directly support the Desert Museum’s work, and Doris will receive lovely letters notifying her of donations made in her honor! Donations will go toward a tree of honor for Doris on Museum grounds.

Click HERE to donate – check the box for “Tribute Gifts” and then put “For Doris’s 100th!” in the notes. We will take care of the rest. Congratulations on your 100th birthday, Doris! Thank you for all you do for the Desert Museum!