By Kyleigh Sacco, Education Specialist Conservation actions can seem straightforward – use less plastic, recycle, buy native plants – but for our youngest ones with limited resources and buying power it can be hard to know where to start. However, conservation is an act of empowerment – the more that we can teach young people how they can make a…
Category: Conservation
A Tale of a Resilient Santa Cruz River and its Tiny Topminnow
A Tale of a Resilient Santa Cruz River and its Tiny Topminnow By Claire Zugmeyer and Luke Cole, PhD | Sonoran Institute Fall is a festive time of year, temperatures start cooling off and we celebrate many events and holidays with family and friends. Sonoran Institute’s annual fish survey provides yet another reason to celebrate. This is an opportunity to see firsthand what may sound obvious—clean reliable water is…
Creating Bee Friendly Landscapes at Home
In recent decades, populations of important pollinators have been declining throughout much of North America. Beekeepers in the U.S. have been suffering from unusually high rates of colony loss of the domesticated honey bee (Apis mellifera). The abundance of several bumblebee species in the western U.S. has declined dramatically, with at least one species now…
Exploring Sahuaripa, Mexico: Our Botany Department Beyond the Museum
When visiting the Desert Museum, one of the most spectacular elements of our grounds is the incredible variety of Sonoran Desert flora. From brightly blooming passion flowers and resilient guayacán trees to iconic favorites like blue palo verde and saguaros, each plant requires expert care to not only thrive in their beauty but help sustain…
Rehoming Sabino Canyon’s Native Fish
Sabino Canyon, one of Tucson’s most cherished natural areas, is renowned for its rugged beauty and diverse wildlife. Among its inhabitants is the Gila Chub (Gila intermedia), a rare native fish species found primarily in this region and one that has faced significant challenges in recent years. In June 2020, a lightning strike ignited the…
An Ecological Checkup for the Gulf of California
How does one do a checkup on a whole ecosystem? It takes a lot of doctors! Thirty-two, in the case of the latest Assessment of the Ecological Health of the Gulf of California, which finds that parts of the system are doing well, while others are hurting.
The Many Colors of Desert Museum Conservation
As our visitors quickly realize after spending a day at the Desert Museum, we are much more than a museum, or a zoo, or any one thing! Our diverse approach to education and conservation allows for a variety of ways for our community to engage in the work we do and deepen their understanding and…
Creating passage for wildlife across the U.S.-Mexico border
by Emily Burns, Ph.D | Sky Island Alliance Thanks to our community partners, Sky Island Alliance, for providing this guest blog for Desert Diaries. Support their border conservation work by following them on social media, volunteering, and donating! Standing at the foot of the border wall in southeast Arizona is intimidating. The wall rises 30…
Bees, Barcodes, and Biodiversity
Desert Museum Volunteers Build Barcode Reference Library of Native Bees By Kim Franklin Eight years ago I launched a small study of the native bee diversity in Las Mipiltas de Cottonwood, a small urban farm in Tucson, Arizona. With the help of a few intrepid volunteers, we began sampling bees every two weeks with pan…
Community, Collaboration, and Conservation at the Desert Museum
As we wrap up another year and orient toward a new season, we are happy to share major highlights and exciting developments from our diverse range of conservation projects here at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. It’s been a year packed with community partnerships, collaborative conservation initiatives, and innovative research. Invasive Species and Save Our Saguaros Month ‘Tis the season … to Save…
Desert Diaries 