One local nonprofit is all about the ripple effect as it promotes messages about valuable natural resources.
The Watershed Management Group is reaching out to all ages, ethnic and racial backgrounds and beliefs in its efforts to restore the seasonal and year-round water flows of the Santa Cruz and Rillito rivers and other desert waterways throughout the Tucson basin.
“With the news about the water shortages on the Colorado River, our work is more needed than ever to build a resilient Tucson community with a healthy watershed for current and future water supply,” said Lisa Shipek, executive director of the group.
“We are investing in new programming and additional staff to expand efforts across Tucson neighborhoods as well as sharing these strategies with other cities around the West who are looking to Tucson as an example of community-driven stewardship of our water, rivers, and Sonoran Desert,” she said Lisa.
Shipek is a founding member of the grassroots organization established in 2003 to provide community-based solutions that ensure longterm community health and prosperity by providing the public with knowledge, skills and resources for sustainable livelihoods. The nonprofit serves not only residents, but also businesses, schools and neighborhoods.
WMG has evolved to include basic classes dedicated to rainwater and graywater harvesting along with utilization of a Green Living Co-op based on a barn-raising model that addresses topics including water harvesting through rain tanks, rain gardens and earthworks; composting toilets; food gardens; native plants and urban wildlife habitats; and much more.
The sustainability workshops and classes enable participants to join with other volunteers to bank hours as they complete projects under the supervision of a project manager with technical expertise.
Additionally, the group offers a Living Lab and Learning Center that provides interactive exhibits and demonstrations for people of all ages in a sustainable environment at 1137 N. Dodge Blvd.
Adapting to pandemic
All operations were impacted by the pandemic in March 2020, resulting in re-imagination of the traditionally in-person programming, said Shipek.
“Our staff was ambitious and we adapted all of our education content to virtual platforms. We had an innovative response to COVID with Steward in Place events. Although people couldn’t get together at homes for workshops, we provided free virtual workshops and how-to resources and also published BYOB — eight steps in how to Build Your Own Basin and Rain Garden,” she said.
The effort paid off: Last year, more than 2,000 people participated in 76 virtual and dispersed Steward in Place events to build basins, install graywater systems, plant native and edible gardens, pull invasive species and clean creeks and streets. Additionally, this spring, more than 285 BYOB kits were distributed through neighborhood workshops and during a soft reopening to limited numbers through the Living Lab.
Moving forward into the summer and fall, Shipek said the organization plans to provide hybrid virtual and in-person programming in an effort to extend its outreach.
“More people are sometimes able to attend virtually. Virtual classes give us more reach outside of Tucson and throughout the Southwest,” she said.
Ultimately, the expanded reach also allows the group to promote water harvesting in neighborhoods with fewer trees and less green space that are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, according to Shipek.
“The other thing that we are really focusing on is the equity piece around water. We want to make sure our programs are accessible across the community. We have taken the BYOB initiative into specific limited-income neighborhoods to help folks build resilient practices. Everyone can benefit from the simple, low-cost solutions and programs we are offering for free,” Shipek said.
Family activities
Hand in hand with these outreach and education initiatives are programs such as Family Saturdays, which launched in May.
“We really wanted to have more specific programming for kids and families since we have so many education offerings geared toward adults. Family Saturdays offers learning stations and activities all planned for kids with designated time with staff and docents. Kids can enjoy the space and learn about native plants, water harvesting, beavers and our rivers. They can see our chickens and explore environmental education efforts and it is all free,” said Shipek.
The intent is to engage children in environmental education early on, according to Cindy Hu, community and youth education manager for the group.
“We are passionate about getting kids excited about the environment. We want to offer activities that make them wonder and ask questions and the Learning Lab is the perfect space to do that. We want them to feel like the Living Lab is their space and they can come here and have fun and learn a little bit, too,” Hu said.
Cristina Louis and Melissa Trout have embraced that philosophy with their son, Lukas, 5.
Louis, a software engineer who relocated with her family from Boston when her job went remote during the pandemic, declared their first Family Saturday a success.
“Lukas is interested in digging and making water go places ... so it was an easy sell to take him to the Living Lab,” said Louis.
Lukas participated in planned activities, which included a scavenger hunt, a project making beaver masks, and an animal/footprint matching game; he also enjoyed viewing the cisterns, using the compost toilet and harvesting eggs.
Overall, Louis said it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning. The family, which harvests some graywater, is looking forward to return visits and to implementing rainwater harvesting and planting at their midtown home in the fall.
“WMG co-op programs and workshops are helping people on a small level and are also impacting the whole Tucson watershed, which is really cool. You can actually see the impact of these programs that advocate for the kind of changes that will reach the aquifers and bring more water flow,” Louis said.
Johanna Stansfield, who attended the event with her daughters, Chloe, 3, and Emma, 6 months, agreed that WMG is making a difference on the ground.
“This is exactly the kind of nonprofit we need to look at water management issues in the Tucson area. We love that they are trying to reach out to local families and bring awareness to harvesting rainwater, consuming less water and using water in a more eco-friendly way since we live in the desert,” Stansfield said.
