Thursday, September 5, 2019
Were you one of the thousands of Pima County residents that checked out Black Russian Sunflower seeds as part of the Library's 2019 One Seed program? For many of you, now could be the time to start harvesting and saving your seeds! If you planted Black Russian Sunflowers back in April or May, your sunflowers are probably ready for harvest.
Our wonderful Seed Librarians have put together a helpful guide on how to tell if your seeds are ready for harvest or what to do if they're not quite ready.
We'll be wrapping up this year's program at our Weigh-Off Party on Saturday, September 21 at Martha Cooper Library from 8 to 11 am. Bring your saved Black Russian Sunflower seeds and your donation will join the donations of other gardeners to ensure we have seeds to plant for seasons to come.
Tags: Pima County Public Library , One Seed Pima County , sunflowers , seed saving , Martha Cooper Library , Image
Friday, July 26, 2019
Children of all ages can learn about local bugs, make their own wearable antennae, see moths, butterflies and beetles, and even...try eating cricket-infused treats.
Meet American wildlife artist Guy Coheleach and draw your own rendition of a Sonoran wild cat, pet a stingray and explore in the packrat playhouse.
Bring a black light to look for fluorescing insects along the walkways! Museum docents would be happy to tell you all about the insects you find.
Tags: Insects , Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum , Museums , Nature , Bugs , Image
A few bats will fly out first as the colony gets ready to leave the bridge. All of a sudden they will take off, streaming out from underneath and form a cloud. Their chirping is audible as they take off to go feed on insects.
Most likely, these are Mexican free-tail bats that have migrated here in April from Mexico, and will return to Mexico in October. They are protected by Arizona law and best viewed from a distance.
Catch their flight at dusk any evening during the summer, likely through September.
Tags: Bats , Rillito bike path , Image
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
The extension will extend the Painted Hills Trails Park, as well as restoring the neighboring Enchanted Hills trail system, according to a release.
Both trails abut the Tucson Mountain Park on the western fringe of Tucson, with the newly-revitalized Painted Hills system featuring four miles of trails, while Enchanted Hills will have seven miles.
The restoration work at Painted Hills (3950 W. Anklam Road), will occur between 6-10 a.m. on Saturday, July 13.
Work at Enchanted Hills (Western end of 36th street, west of South Mission Road), will happen throughout the summer.
Anyone interested in helping at either site can reach Neil Stitzer, at 520-724-5239, or by email at [email protected].
Tags: Tucson Mountain Park , Trial Building , Pima County , Tucson , Arizona , Pima County , Image
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Located on the edge of Tucson Mountain Park, plans are to create four miles of new trails in the Painted Hills trail system and seven miles of new trails throughout the Enchanted Hills area.
Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation trails staff need help to make the new hiking haven a possibility. No previous trail work is needed and volunteers will help in new trail construction and revegetation efforts.
There will be multiple opportunities at the two locations to help build the new trails:
Painted Hills Trailhead, 3590 W. Anklam Road
- Saturday, April 6: 8 a.m - noon
- Sunday, April 14: 8 a.m. - noon
- Saturday, April 27: 7 a.m. - 11 a.m.
- Saturday, May 4: 7 a.m. - 11 a.m.
- Saturday, May 11: 7 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Enchanted Hills Volunteer Events
Location: 36th Street Trailhead (western end of 36th Street, west of S. Mission Road)
- Sunday, April 7: 8 a.m. - noon
- Saturday, April 13: 8 a.m. - noon
- Saturday, April 20: 8 a.m. - noon
- Sunday, April 28: 7 a.m. - 11 a.m.
- Saturday, May 4: 7 a.m. - 11 a.m.
- Saturday, May 11: 7 a.m. - 11 a.m.
For more information about the volunteer opportunities or new trails, click here.
Tags: Painted hills , trails , hiking , nature , Tucson , Arizona , wildlife , volunteer , Image
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
As part of an interdisciplinary oral history project run by scholars from the University of Arizona, a mobile recording studio has been set up to collect stories of hikers walking by.
"It is essentially Story Corps for Tumamoc," said Ben Wilder, director of Tumamoc Hill, in a release. "We want to hear what Tumamoc Hill means to you to better understand the unique connection between people and this place."
The UA Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry and the Desert Laboratory Tumamoc Hill have collaborated on this project and the camper, which opened for storytelling on March 12.
On select days between now and April 7, the camper will be open for hikers to stop by and share their stories. The tales will be taken down on audio, and each speaker has the option of having their photo taken by National Geographic photographer Bill Hatcher.
The images and stories will be shared via Desert Lab and Confluencenter on Instagram at @confluencenteruofa and @desert.laboratory.
"Just as Humans of New York is able to give you a sense of the vibrant culture of a city and intimate stories we all have, Tales From Tumamoc will capture the remarkable stories right here in the heart of our city," said Javier Duran, director of the Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry in a release.
To find out when the camper will be open and collecting stories, and to learn more about the project, click here.
Tags: Tumamoc , "ales From Tumamoc , Cuéntame Más , Camper , oral history , stories , hiking , UA , Image
Friday, March 1, 2019
The equally magical Friday snow, however, caused the flowers to close their petals for a few days after a brief winter storm caused around half an inch of snow to fall around the University of Arizona campus and a whopping 38 inches on Mt. Lemmon, according to the National Weather Service.
Wildflowers like to hide when it gets chilly, but as temperatures have increased throughout the week reaching into the 70's, they're out again and blooming as bright as ever! This bloom marks the beginning of Southern Arizona's spring wildflower season. Need to know when and where you'll find these carpets of color? Reach out to Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's "Wildflower Hotline" at 520-833-2702 ext. 7320 during business hours, or check online for additional resources.
Tags: wildflowers , parks , outdoors , recreation , photography , nature , Southern Arizona , weather , hiking , Image
Friday, January 18, 2019
A lunar eclipse will begin on Sunday, Jan. 20, at 8:30 p.m. when the Earth’s shadow starts to cross over the Moon, leading to a full lunar eclipse around 9:40 p.m. when the shadow moves to cover the entire Moon.
“When people see things happening in the skies with their own eyes or through telescopes, it inspires their curiosity about planetary science,” said Shipherd Reed, Associate Director of Communications at the Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium.
Flandrau has partnered with the UA Lunar & Planetary Lab, and Tucson Amateur Astronomers Association for this event. Volunteers from TAAA will provide telescopes for the public to enjoy and participate in the lunar eclipse.
Attendees also have the chance to capture some pictures of the eclipse. TAAA will provide smartphone photography adaptors right on their telescopes, so people can capture pictures of this lunar event.
“It’s a great opportunity to tap into what the UA has to offer the Tucson community,” Reed said.
The event will beheld outside on the UA mall. UA Chamber Winds will accompany the eclipse and the telescope gazing with wind, brass, and percussion instruments. The Chamber Winds, comprised of students from the Fred Fox School of Music, will play music themed by the stars and moon, according to Martin Gaines, a UA doctoral conducting student. Gaines will lead the Chamber Winds group for this event.
The Chamber Winds will play three songs while the lunar eclipse is happening, including Mozart Serenade in C Minor and an André Chaplet piece. The songs are paired just right for the event, according to Gaines.
“We’re doing a piece by Mozart that was written in 1782 and this is a wind serenade that was meant to be played at essentially an outdoors social event,” Gaines said. “I think it’s going to be fun to hear that in kind of the way that it was originally conceived to be performed.”
Steve Kortenkamp, a UA planetary scientist, will present about the Moon prior to the Chamber Winds performance at 7 p.m. His presentation will include talks about the Moon, what we already know and what we want to discover from the NASA research spacecraft that is orbiting the Moon.
The concert, the telescope viewings, and Flandrau exhibits will be free and open to the public. The Moon presentation by Kortenkamp and “Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon” Laser light show are $5 each. The event will start at the same time of the eclipse, at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 20, 2019 on the UA mall just outside of the Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium.
Tags: moon , eclipse , UA , Flandrau , science , Sunday , Jan 20 , space , Image
Thursday, January 17, 2019
If you need reason to stay up on a school night, the dramatic name of this lunar event should be enough to keep you up. This Sunday's lunar event called a Super Blood Wolf Moon is an event not to miss.
Need another reason? Sunday night, Jan. 20, will be the last total lunar eclipse of the decade. The moon will appear red in the night sky as the moon passes directly through the Earth's shadow. The red color gives this lunar event it's nickname of blood moon.
The moon will also be "super" this Sunday, as it appears larger because it is within the closest part of its orbit around Earth.
Where does the wolf come in? Full moons in January have historically been nicknamed wolf moons.
“In Native American and early Colonial times, the full moon for January was called the Full Wolf Moon. It appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages,” the Old Farmer’s Almanac reported.
We are pretty lucky here in Tucson that the conditions will be just right for us to have a great view of the moon throughout the night.
The first phase, or the penumbral phase of the eclipse will start at 8:30 p.m. The shadow will then start to move across the moon, covering more and more of it until 9:40 p.m. when the entire moon will be covered for the total lunar eclipse.
Tags: super moon , blood moon , wolf moon , lunar eclipse , space , science , Sunday , Image
Thursday, December 20, 2018
The seven-day private vehicle entrance fee at Saguaro National Park will go up from $15 to $20, the seven-day motorcycle entrance fee will rise from $10 to $15, individual entrance passes for pedestrians and bicyclists will increase from $5 to $10 and the Saguaro Annual Pass will increase from $35 to $40.
According to Saguaro National Park, the change comes in response “to public comments on a fee proposal originally released in October 2017 to modestly increase entrance fees in order to raise additional revenue and address the $11.6 billion in deferred maintenance across the system of 418 park units.”
“Federal law requires that recreational fees charged on public lands be used for direct visitor benefits,” said Leah McGinnis, park superintendent. “Every fee dollar collected in Saguaro National Park stays in Saguaro National Park and is invested back into improving visitor facilities and services here.”
In 2019 the National Park Service is offering the following fee free days:
Monday, Jan. 21 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Saturday, April 20 for the First Day of National Park Week/National Junior Ranger Day; Sunday, Aug. 25 for National Park Service Anniversary; Saturday, Sept. 28 for National Public Lands Day; and Monday, Nov. 11 for Veterans Day.
The price of the annual America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass, along with the Lifetime Senior Pass will remain at $80. The free annual pass for active duty military personnel and free lifetime passes for people with disabilities are also available. Families with fourth grade students can utilize the Every Kid in a Park pass, permitting a fourth grader and all of their family into all Federal Recreation Areas for free for the year.
Tags: Saguaro National Park , National Park Service , entrance fee , increase , Image
