UA Cochise Cooperative Extension Water Wise

Last Month Water Wise hosted a riparian tree ID workshop in Sierra Vista. It went so nice we are doing it twice! This time it will be in Bisbee on Sunday July 28th. We hope to see you there.

Over the weekend Water Wise hosted a Riparian Tree ID Workshop. We had a great time and learned a lot along the way! Scheduled next we have Flora Fronteriza: Native Plant Restoration in the Arizona/Sonora Borderlands on July 7th. We hope you are as excited to learn about native plants as we are!

Water Wise loves native plants! Join us on July 7th 2024 at 12:30 PM in Bisbee to hear about native plants in restoration from our good friends ! Did you know prior to this program are conducting a plant delivery to the Courtyard in Old Bisbee? You can place your order with them online at www.borderlandsplants.org. Be sure to include, "Bisbee 7/7" in the notes.

The University of Arizona's Irrigation Efficiency Program has already conserved 36,418 acre-feet of water thus far! Join the Water Resources Research Center's webinar on Thursday, June 27th 2024 from 12:00 - 1:15 PM to learn more!

Monsoon is a favorite time of year for many desert dwellers. The humidity and moisture quell the worst of the summer heat and on a good year the landscape is transformed with the rains. What does monsoon 2024 have in store? Any thoughts or predictions? Join the University of Arizona's Southwest Monsoon Fantasy Game!

https://monsoonfantasy.arizona.edu/home

Water Wise is happy to bring this Riparian Tree ID Workshop to the community on June 29th! We will start with a lecture at the PMR in Groth Hall on the University of Arizona Sierra Vista campus. After the lecture we will have a field portion at the San Pedro Riparian National Conversation Area. Participants must register before hand and provide their own transportation. Follow the link bellow for more information and registration.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/riparian-tree-id-workshop-tickets-925512872917?aff=oddtdtcreator

Have you been thinking about water harvesting as monsoon season approaches? Water Wise will be conducting a presentation on water harvesting with the Friends of the Huachuca Mountains at the Carr House on Sunday June 2nd at 1:30 PM. The Carr House offers a great variety of educational programs! Want to find out more regarding 2024 programming? Follow the link provided below!

https://www.huachucamountains.org/programs_2024/

The Nature Conservancy has led the wet/dry mapping on the San Pedro River for 25 years! This year marks number 26! Volunteers use GPS points to mark where there is water and where the river is dry. Want to check out information from previous years? Visit the link! https://azconservation.org/project/wet_dry_mapping/

Wet-Dry Mapping

This is a great way to contribute to protecting the San Pedro River. For 26 years, the Nature Conservancy has recruited volunteers to map the wet and dry areas of the river in order to track changes over time. Contact them to get involved at [email protected]

In the US & Canada World Migratory Bird Day is Celebrated every year in the month of May! Come learn more about these marvelous migratory birds and ways that you can simultaneous save water and support our avian species on May 19th at 12:30 PM.

Cooperative Extension has a great workshop coming up in Willcox!

Join us for an exclusive workshop dedicated to enhancing your expertise in irrigation systems maintenance!
Our workshop aims to provide participants with proven maintenance strategies that optimize irrigation systems for increased efficiency and the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices.
Wed May 15th, 2024 @ 8:00am – 2:00pm
Location: Cochise College Willcox Center
Reservations:
• Don't miss this opportunity to advance your knowledge in irrigation systems maintenance and contribute to a more sustainable future in agriculture! Reserve your spot today through this link: https://maintainsystemswilcox.rsvpify.com
• For inquiries, please contact Dr. Diaa Eldin Elshikha at [email protected]

Water Wise wants to send out a big thanks to all of our participants, partners, and speakers that helped us celebrate Water Awareness Month in 2024! Here are a few images from a couple of our programs! Stay tuned for future programs and events from Water Wise!

The Friends of the San Pedro River are hosting Celebrate the San Pedro next week on Saturday April 27th! Water Wise will be there to celebrate our river and water resources! We hope to see you there!

Cochise County Cooperative Extension has two great programs being held in the Public Meeting Room of Groth Hall this week! On Friday April 19th at 5:30 PM Water Wise will be hosting our colleague Mike Crimmins to learn about Arizona's Changing Hydroclimate. On Saturday April 20th our friends Cochise County Master Gardeners will be hosting their Spring Plant Talk & Sale! The talk will occur from 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM. The plant sale will not start until the talk ends at 10:00 AM and will run until 2:00 PM.

Come support Cooperative Extension! This is a great opportunity to learn more about where our water comes from and a chance to learn about native and desert adapted plants that can help with water savings in our landscape and community!

Do you want to know more about water in your area? The University of Arizona's Water Resources Research Center has been putting together water factsheets for each county. Follow the link https://wrrc.arizona.edu/resources/arizona-water-factsheets for more information. It is Water Awareness Month in Arizona and https://www.arizonawaterfacts.com/ is another great resource for water information.

Happy Water Awareness Month! This is a friendly reminder from Water Wise that we have two upcoming programs this week! On Friday we will be hosting "Working with beaver to rehydrate our rivers" and on Sunday we will cover, "Water Wise Plants & Their Pollinators". We hope to see you there!

On Friday we will be providing pizza on a first-come first-serve basis and the Bisbee Science Lab will be hosting their Hydrology Exhibit for kids!

Our good friends at Cochise County Master Gardeners are hosting an irrigation workshop on April 12th! Drip irrigation is a great way to save water by getting water directly to plants! Happy Water Awareness Month!

Happy Water Awareness Month! Water Wise wants everyone to know that our upcoming program on Friday April 5th will be a family friendly event! Aside from our great presentation on Natural infrastructure in dryland streams (NIDS) the Bisbee Science Lab will be hosting their Hydrology Exhibit with engaging hands on learning experiences for kids!

Since this program is in the evening we will provide food on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Science Lab has had great success in the past providing pizza at the aptly named Pie & Sky. We are sticking to that formula and will have pizza this Friday, April 5th! We hope to see you there at 5:30 PM!

One rock dams, leaky weirs, check dams, log dams, tricheras, earthen berms, and gabions are all forms of NIDS (Natural Infrastructure in Dryland Streams). Natural infrastructure in dryland streams can establish regenerative wetland sinks that reverse desertification and strengthen climate resilience! Want to learn more about these techniques and findings from the USGS Aridland Water Harvesting Study? Join Water Wise in celebrating Water Awareness Month with this wonderful program and our marvelous speaker, Laura Norman on April 5th at 5:30 PM at the Bisbee Science Lab. For more information on this program you may visit our website with the link below.

https://waterwise.arizona.edu/events/natural-infrastructure-dryland-streams-nids-can-establish-regenerative-wetland-sinks-reverse

Happy Spring! April is Water Awareness month in Arizona! Water Wise is proud to present several upcoming programs that are free and open to the public for Water Awareness Month!

We will cover when and where we receive precipitation in Arizona's Hydroclimate! Species of low water use plants that are packed with nectar or serve as host plants will be discussed in Water Wise Plants and Their Pollinators. We will cover methods that humans and wildlife implement to encourage infiltration by slowing and spreading water during Natural Infrastructure in Dryland Streams and Working with Beaver to Rehydrate Our Rivers.

We hope to see you at one of our upcoming events. Please share our programs with friends and family that might be interested or visit https://www.arizonawaterfacts.com/wam for more information regarding Water Awareness Month as well as tips and resources regarding water conservation.

Don't forget to wear green and swing by to learn about frogs and how they survive in the desert this Sunday, March 17th at 12:30 PM!

Stay tuned for more information on upcoming programming.
April is Water Awareness Month in Arizona and Water Wise will be conducting four separate programs at three different locations in Cochise County!

Our next Water Wise program will focus on frogs! Swing by Kafka Cafe in Bisbee on March 17th at 12:30 PM to learn more about these creatures and the adaptations that help them survive in the desert. As always Water Wise will have lots of materials and information on different ways you can conserve water at home and in our communities!

The Water Wise program had a great turn out at both presentations we have conducted in 2024! The picture above is from our Waterfowl presentation in January. Our next two programs will be "How does a frog live in the desert?" and "Water Wise plants and their pollinators". Stay tuned as we will have more details regarding venue, date, time, and speakers soon!

It has been great to start 2024 off with some nice gentle winter rains in Cochise County! Did you know that you can access localized rain data through the University of Arizona's rainlog! You can view rain data for a single day or a range date. You can even add to the data by collecting and submitting your own data. Follow the link below to explore rainlog!

https://rainlog.org/map #6.33/34.234/-111.93

Thank you for your patience as we have been rescheduling our Waterfowl of Southern Arizona presentation. We have set a new date! Put January 21st at 12:30 PM on your calendar to learn more about waterfowl, and the importance of our water resources! Looking forward to seeing you in 2024!

Our Waterfowl presentation scheduled for Today is currently being rescheduled for a date in January. Our venue had to unexpectedly close for the day. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. Stay tuned for more information regarding the new date and time for this program. We hope to see you in January while you can still get out and see all of the wonderful waterfowl that southern Arizona has to offer!

Join us in Patagonia for a free soil health workshop! Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KSZZmUDPfHWF4X9RJi7BQ2NzIpISTE35PzrIsiijMYU/edit

During fall we have an influx of waterfowl in southern Arizona! Water wise will be discussing waterfowl that over winter in southern Arizona on December 17th 2023. Meet us at Kafka in Bisbee, AZ for this presentation at 12:30 PM! One of the best ways we can support our local populations individually and as a community is through water conservation and restoration!

Water Wise has had a great year getting involved with the community in 2023! We will be conducting one last educational program this year on December 17th 2023 at . Our topic will be waterfowl of Southern Arizona! We have several species of waterfowl that migrate and spend winter in Cochise County. As we wind down for 2023 and prepare for 2024 we wanted to take a look back at some of the great programs we have put together and thank our friends for a great space and atmosphere for the community to enjoy these programs. During 2023 we have hosted presentations at Kafka on topics including water as habitat, bird migration & water conservation, monsoon & monsoon safety, water harvesting, wilding your landscape! Stayed tuned for more water wise talks, presentations, and events in 2024!

This is a friendly reminder from the Water Wise staff about our upcoming program this Wednesday, November 8th on Dragonflies & Damselflies of SE Arizona. We hope to see you there!

Dragonflies & Damselflies of SE Arizona Wednesday, November 8th
1140 Colombo Ave Groth Hall PMR (Public Meeting Room) Sierra Vista, AZ