Watershed Management Group (AZ)
Douglas Spring, Rincon Mountains near Saguaro National Park East, Arizona. (Photo by G.E.H.)
Based in Tucson (AZ), Watershed Management Group (WMG) was founded in 2003 and "develops community-based solutions to ensure the long-term prosperity of people and health of the environment" and "provide people with the knowledge, skills, and resources for sustainable livelihoods." WGM's initiatives include classes on water-harvesting, hosting a Living Lab, stewarding a River Run Network, and many other collaborations to grow sustainability efforts throughout southern Arizona toward better managing water resources for the future.
Get a glimpse of their efforts in their video about "Taking Action from Backyards to City Policy":
WGM has helped to grow the flow of Dear Body of Water through varied engagements, including:
- In October 2023, Gretchen E. Henderson's workshop on "Writing with Water: Finding Form in a Thirsty World" at the UA Poetry Center welcomed WGM's education director, Julie Regalado, as the lunchtime guest speaker for participants to learn about WGM's work and to integrate water stewardship into their practices.
- In Spring-Fall 2024, WGM hosted an ongoing poetic water-harvesting station at their Living Lab in central Tucson (with thanks to Lauren Knight).
- In July 2024, Watershed Management Group hosted Dear Body of Water at Monsoon Night/Noche del Monzón, with thanks to WGM staff Maya Horner and Jenny Aguilera and intern Stryder Rodenberg (from Pitzer College in CA).
- In November 2024, WGM grew their poetic water-harvesting station as part of the Watershed Soundscape performances in collaboration with the University of Arizona (thanks to the UA team, with photos from art professor Carissa DiCindio).
Intersectional Resources:
- Learn about histories of Tucson's rivers here.
- Learn about WGM's River Run Network: 50-year Vision.
- Learn about the proposed Santa Cruz Urban National Wildlife Refuge.
- Sample of Tucson Watershed Maps.
- Learn about Water-Harvesting (with Brad Lancaster).
- More water-stewardship efforts are underway across AZ (and more flow through WaterWays).
Land & Water Acknowledgements (from Watershed Management Group): Watershed Management Group acknowledges that we live, learn, work, and engage with community on the ancestral lands of the Hohokam, Sobaipuri, and Apache people and those of the Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O’odham, whose relationship with this land continues to this day. We acknowledge that water in the Sonoran Desert is of great spiritual, physical, and ecological significance to be protected, cherished, and celebrated. More here (in English and Spanish).
WATERSHED
Douglas Spring—Tanque Verde Creek—Rillito River—Santa Cruz River—Gila River—Colorado River—Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California)—Pacific Ocean