The Santa Cruz Watershed Collaborative (SCWC) is a partnership launched in 2017 representing organizations and agencies working on water and watershed issues in the greater Tucson portion of the Santa Cruz River watershed. Watershed Management Group is a partner, and I spend about a quarter of my time working at SCWC in a coordinator role. SCWC’s vision is “people working together to ensure a natural heritage of healthy urban watershed with flowing desert rivers and creeks in the Tucson metro area of the Santa Cruz River Watershed." They do this through their mission to “collaboratively restore the hydrological and ecological function of our Sonoran Desert the watershed. By fostering cooperation, SCWC enables watershed leaders to make well-informed management and policy decisions.”
They have biannual forums, and I helped in the Fall 2022 Forums; and I had a more central organizational role in the recent Spring 2023 Forums on March 29th and April 6th. The theme of this forum was, “collaborating responses to drought and water shortage with conversations that include local conditions, local resources, diverse voices, and environmental water needs” which has been a huge topic, especially with the uncertainty of the Colorado River shortage. I want to share more about my experience of being in a space where water professionals are talking about these issues and how this impacts where I see myself heading in my environmental science career.
Field Day March 29, 2023: Along the Rillito Confluence
There were about 65 participants along the Rillito confluence on a perfect March day. The confluence is a significant location because it’s where the Pantano Wash, Tanque Verde Creek, and the Rillito River meet. It was especially meaningful because the river was still flowing since January 2nd, which at that point had marked about 86 days (As of April 11, it’s been 100 days!). The most consecutive flow that our organization has calculated was 56 days last year. It was special to be in that space, and I could tell by others that they found this impactful to witness.
We participated in three service activities: 1) mapping of Cottonwood trees, spring locations, and invasive species to help better understand riparian health along these shallow groundwater areas, 2) mapping locations for potential stormwater basins and berms along the Loop to help support trees, and 3) learning how to remove invasive Arundo donax.
In the afternoon, we had lunch and networking and then heard from presenters about the cultural/historical context of the confluence, current flow status, the importance of shallow groundwater areas, new potential projects in this area, like extending the bike loop along Tanque Verde Creek, and how this all connects to the Santa Cruz River.
For this field day, I spent most of March organizing registrants, sending emails, doing the food order, making the surveys for the service activities, and publicizing this event through our website and newsletters. I attended weekly planning meetings, and it was weird to see all that background work occur in front of my eyes. It was fascinating seeing all the participants from various partners and organizations come together and hear their side conversations around water. I thought to myself, “This is what community organizing looks like. It’s bringing all these people to one space because of a common idea that we need resilient solutions around the water and climate crisis” Even though I wasn’t bringing new knowledge to this group, it was amazing to help organize collaboration together.
Conference Day April 6, 2023: Kino Environmental Restoration Project
Post-field day, I had to switch my momentum to prepping for the conference day about a week later. We had a larger planning team for this day, so the number of tasks and responsibilities was even more. We spent a lot of time coordinating with panels and speakers, as well as sorting the logistics of having a hybrid-style conference. We had about 60 total attend in person, and about 20 attend online. Similar to the field day, I was eager to continue making connections with people, and I was excited that I have been able to connect names and faces to the organizations they’re affiliated with.
Our theme for the day was collaborating on regional drought responses in times of shortage, and our speakers brought a variety of perspectives to the conversation.
From learning about the Sacred Value of our Waters- Wa:k Community from the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation, to the Water Forecast of the Lower Santa Cruz River Basin Study; we dove into how water has shaped the story of the Santa Cruz River watershed. Other presentations we around the cost/benefit comparison of Climate Adaptation Strategies, the resiliency of creeks, and new and innovative conservation policies at Tucson Water. We also heard about community efforts like Net Zero Water, nonprofit efforts like WMG, HOA resources, urban biodiversity, and landscape architecture. Later in the afternoon, we had breakout sessions where people had the opportunity to engage in discussion around some of these topics.
Since I was helping to organize this conference day, my mind was zooming around thinking about the lunch order, unexpected technology needs that I had to step in for, and checking my email constantly for emails from people throughout the day. Even hearing little bits of the presentations and conversations, I still learned a ton from those around me.
Overall, I still found it powerful that each of the speakers and attendees has a unique contribution to the health of Tucson’s watershed and they each have a role in the solution related to the water crisis. It’s incredible that I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of this work and to see what it’s like to bring various partners and entities to one space related to an environmental issue that they all have in common.
Besides work: our house has been filled with lots of guests! Cade’s family was here last weekend, Michaela’s sister was here and Jessie and I’s friend from college, Allison has spent10 days with us! We’ve filled our time with hikes, game nights, and spending time together.
Today, we head out to Camp Friedenswald in Michigan for our MVS National Retreat, and then I head home to Harrisonburg for about a week! I’m excited about this change of pace and a chance to rewind from work since coming to Tucson. Coming back to Tucson, things will look a lot different at work in terms of my tasks and schedule, and the summer heat is on the way…
What an incredible experience! I love to hear all your thoughts about the community organization process and am excited to hear more details when you're in the Burg!!
It's great to follow you through this blog, Andrea! Thanks for sharing what you've been up to and your insights and reflections, it sounds like you're getting really great experience with community organizing. If you see Jonathan and Julie Fridley at Camp Friedenswald say hello to them from me, they were my Service Adventure leaders in Oregon.