Saguaro National Park stands on the ancestral homeland of the Tohono O’odham, Pascua Yaqui, Sobaipuri, and Hohokam people. The EFTA team has recently been invited to help out with a variety of tasks at Tumacocori National Historic Park (TUMA), particularly in the realm of park maintenance...
Saguaro National Park stands on the ancestral homeland of the Tohono O’odham, Pascua Yaqui, Sobaipuri, and Hohokam people. Since the park's establishment in 1933, there have been various efforts to conserve the iconic Saguaro cactus (Carnegia gigantea) by considering disease, ecology, and long-term monitoring. This initiative...
Within Saguaro National Park there are multiple plots of land which have been continuously monitored since the 1940's. These plots were first monitored by students from the University of Arizona but was then handed to the park itself. The saguaros' height and arm amount were...
The sugi bush brushed across my shoulder and it brought back a memory. I smirked to myself as I recalled an old camp leader, Grandpa Sy. He was an O’odham elder who hosted ranch camps for the youth in the community and was full of...
I have always felt a deep calling in my spirit to help my community. There were countless nights when I would stay up late, contemplating how I could achieve this goal. Sometimes, I felt like my aspirations were too far-fetched, almost like I was out...
Saguaro National Park stands on the ancestral homeland of the Tohono O’odham, Pascua Yaqui, Sobaipuri, and Hohokam people. Over the past few months, we've been working closely with Saguaro's Resource Management team as well as other programs like NexGen and American Conservation Experience. Together, we carry...
Throughout my internship, I learned how to step into the world of nature and move beyond a Western paradigm. Working with nature requires acknowledging the original stewards of the land and understanding how they protect and preserve it. Many people might see a rock and...
Water. The sign of life and when it comes to it in a desert it is one of the most precious resources. Most would be surprised to learn that the Sonoran Desert has many arthropods including the aquatic kind. These arthropods exist in tinajas, bedrock...
I want to start the blog with a land acknowledgement to the ancestral people of the land we work in and learn from, the O'odham. You see their history in every particle of the ground and their future in every new plant growth. One of the...
Saguaro Internship Orientation Begins Each January, the Saguaro Internship begins its mission of shaping the next generation of conservation leaders, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to protect Saguaro National Park. This year, the program launched with a week-long orientation at the park in Tucson,...