The Tucson chapter holds meetings between September and May each year, with a summer break. We meet on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm. We hold “hybrid” meetings, where we meet both in person and also on Zoom. The live meetings will be in the ENR2 (Environment and Natural Resources 2) building at the University of Arizona, located on 6th street near Park. We meet in Room S215. Parking is available in the 6th St parking garage adjacent to ENR2. A credit card is required to pay for garage parking. If you are not on our mailing list and wish to attend one of our meetings on Zoom, email us at NativePlantsTucson@gmail.com to request the Zoom link. Videos of past meetings can be found on our YouTube channel.
JOIN OUR CHAPTER E-LIST
Join Our Chapter E-list: If you would like to receive announcements about field trips and meetings via e-mail, send a note to the Tucson Chapter email to be added to the list. Stay informed by joining us on Facebook.
Usually, the most up-to-date information about upcoming chapter events can be found on our Facebook page.
Caring for agave and baby cacti? Consider volunteer opportunities at the Pima County Native Plant Nursery! Located at 5845 N. Camino de la Tierra, the Pima County Native Plant Nursery grows native plants for public projects and is looking for volunteers to help with weeding, watering and propagation. The nursery is open Monday to Friday 7:00am to 3:30 pm. Email Amy for available times/days and details. Plant salvage at Cortaro Farms from Camino Del Oeste to Thornydate prior to road improvement project.
Chapter News
Highlights from Summer 2025
Posted on Nov 23, 2025
Monsoon Mixer Our annual Monsoon Mixer was postponed until September, in hopes that late rains would bless us. At that time, we gathered at Slow Body Brew, an eclectic pub located in the industrial area near downtown. It was nice to see friends, exchange some cool plants, publications, and summer stories. We were honored to have AZNPS President Doug Ripley join us.
Madera CanyonField Trip At the end of August, we ventured into Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains with guide extraordinaire Doug Moore. Although the creek was dry due to the ongoing drought, we saw flowering Bouvardia.
Passive Water Harvesting Field Trips October featured two field trips, one to Honeybee Canyon, in the Tortalita Mountains, and the other in Oro Valley and Oracle, led by Chuck LeFevre of Common Sense Passive Water Harvesting. The tour included touring water harvesting landscapes along roadways, public common areas, and both small and large front yards that employed berms, a rock dam, and other passive-water harvest projects.
Chapter meeting for November 13, 2025
Posted on Nov 09, 2025
The Sonoran Desert: A Global Bee Biodiversity Hotspot, Presented by Tanner Bland, Program Coordinator, Tucson Bee Collective
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Meeting and Presentation, 7pm in person and on Zoom (link below)
U of A campus, Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), Room S210 (NOTE ROOM CHANGE on 2nd floor), 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson AZ
The Tucson Bee Collaborative is a partnership between the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, University of Arizona Insect Collection, and Pima Community College. The Collaborative is focused on documenting native bee biodiversity, understanding their local conservation status, and involving students in place-based education while participating in cutting-edge molecular research. Our current research efforts focus on sequencing the DNA of every bee species in the Tucson Basin and providing detailed records of their abundance and diversity through time and space.
In this presentation, Tanner will discuss the evolutionary origins, classification, and life histories of some native, solitary bees from the Sonoran Desert region. He will focus on the evolution of bee-plant relationships, using data from his research, which attempts to document how often bees visit certain plants, particularly those of conservation concern.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER
As the program coordinator for the Tucson Bee Collaborative, Tanner Bland conducts outreach, identifies bee specimens from their collections, and works to expand a DNA barcoding program to include high schools, community colleges, state parks, etc. that help them reach the goal of surveying and monitoring the local bee fauna of the Tucson Basin.
A master’s student in the Entomology department at the University of Arizona, Tanner’s research focuses on using museum bee specimens to understand past and present trends in pollination services performed by native, solitary bees using DNA from pollen grains. Currently, the lab is assessing the diversity of cacti visited by native cactus bees in the genus Diadasia.
Tanner’s other area of expertise is in the ecology, evolution, and phylogenetics of the largest bee genus in North America, Perdita, the fairy bees. They are remarkable in their number of specialized interactions with plants, and Tanner is using them to better understand the evolution of bee diets, how and when specialist bees evolve, and their role in the conservation of rare or imperiled plant species.
ZOOM LINK
As many of you know, we have been having problems getting the Zoom link to work some months. We regret this, but are doing our best. We would be delighted if some tech-savvy member who comes to our meetings in person would like to volunteer to help us with technology for monthly meetings. IF THIS PERSON IS YOU, please email us at nativeplantstucson@gmail.com and identify yourself!
SAVE THE DATE! Holiday Chapter Meeting December 11, 2025
Member’s showcase
We will celebrate the holidays at our December meeting on Thursday, December 11 with hot cider and some holiday treats, so please bring something to share. There will be two short programs with an opportunity to socialize afterward.
Aaron Peretz from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will share his experiences in the Ironwood National Monument. Susan Husband will talk about the University of Arizona Herbarium and the experience of being a volunteer.–
Tucson Chapter Meeting – October 9, 2025
Posted on Oct 04, 2025
Arizona’s Night Shift: Bats as Ecological Heroes
Presented by Susan Chappel, Kartchner Caverns State Parks
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Meeting and Presentation, 7pm in person and on Zoom (link below)
U of A campus, Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), Room S225, 1064 E. Lowell Street, Tucson AZ
Susan Chappel will introduce us to the hidden lives of Arizona bats and the essential roles they play in our environment, as predators and natural pest control agents and as pollinating superstars for a variety of native plant species. Bat populations are under threat from a spectrum of challenges, and our speaker will discuss actions we can take to assist our flying mammalian neighbors.
Susan Chappel is a ranger with Arizona State Parks and Trails at Kartchner Caverns. She leads cave tours and participates in outreach at this amazing State Park. In the summer, when the Karchner Big Room closes to protect its breeding bat colonies, she guides bat walks at the Caverns. She is passionate about sharing the love and respect she has for our wildlife. Her interest in bats was first ignited when her youngest daughter fell in love with the book Stellaluna. Susan encouraged her interest and it has led her to her current role in bat education and outreach.
Meet : Nursery entrance gate at 5845 N Camino de la Tierra
Directions : Turn south off Orange Grove at the Camino de la Tierra traffic light. Camino de la Tierra is between Thornydale and Mona Lisa, east of I-10.
Nursery manager and AZNPS member Amy Belk will show us native plants from seedlings to maturity. This is a great way to learn how to identify a wide range of our native species.
The Pima County Native Plant Nursery (NPN) grows native plants for landscaping projects in public spaces such as roadsides and medians, restoration sites, flood control properties, libraries and parks. This small, 4-acre nursery operates differently than a standard retail nursery, with inventory driven by upcoming public projects rather than sales forecasts. Because the plants are grown for restoration, a robust IPM (Integrated Pest Management) program with organic pest control methods is in place. As part of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, the nursery specializes in common, threatened, and rare species found in the Sonoran Desert.
After the native plant nursery tour, those who have time can also visit Prickly Park, adjacent to the nursery. The Park is a successful collaboration between Pima County and the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society (TCSS), a local non-profit organization that rescues and salvages succulent species from private residences and large development projects all around town. Many of these rescued plants find their way to Prickly Park, where they can be enjoyed by the public for years to come. Come see how this once gravel mine and landfill has been transformed into a truly unique greenspace that now hosts a variety of wildlife!
Honeybee Canyon
Saturday 11 October, 7:30 am to 10:30 am
Meet : Honeybee Park parking lot, 13880 N Rancho Vistoso Blvd
Directions : Turn off Oracle Road and drive NW on 1st Ave in Oro Valley. Continue through the Tangerine light where the road becomes Rancho Vistoso Blvd. Past the Vistoso Highlands light the road curves and descends to Honeybee Canyon. Slow down as you cross the bridge as the parking lot entrance is right after the bridge. Best to use a GPS.
After an historically dry July and August, Honeybee Canyon received regular rains in the month of September resulting in a surge of plant growth. We will walk one mile up Honeybee wash with granitic shelves on either side that provide natural trellises for desert grasses, flowering plants, and cacti. The sandy canyon floor has vegetative islands of seep willow, burrobrush, and Gooding willow. We will see various desert vine species including wild snapdragon, twinevine, and pipevine. As we slowly gain elevation we will see Justicia longii,Coursetia bushes and a Escobaria cactus. Near the top of the canyon we will see the beautiful Owl petroglyph panel. Several plants will be in bloom at the time of this field trip.
Over the past year AZNPS has joined with the Vistoso Hiker Club in an effort to “rewild Honeybee Canyon”. Volunteers have made a sustained effort to manually and chemically take out buffel/fountaingrass, African lovegrasses and bermudagrass from the areas we will visit. Already native plants are emerging in the controlled areas.
Common Sense Passive Water Harvesting in Oro Valley and Oracle
Saturday 24 October7:30 am to noon
Meet : Trader Joe Parking lot on SE corner of Oracle/Magee. Just north of the shopping carts. We will carpool. Limit: 15 participants RSVP to tucsonaznpstrips@gmail.com
We are bringing back our pre-Covid popular annual learning tour about common sense passive water harvesting in Oro Valley and Oracle, led by Chuck LeFevre. Chuck is a berm, rock and boulder placer extraordinaire. Water harvesting landscapes will be visited along roadways, public common areas, and both small and large front yards. You will be impressed by the simplicity and sheer common sense of these passive water harvest projects. In Oracle we will also have a chance to botanize in and around the water harvest sites. For those who have time, we will stay and eat brunch together at the new Riot Grill in Oracle.
