Invasive species are one of the biggest threats to our park’s ecosystem health. They outcompete native plants, decrease biodiversity, and increase wildfire occurrences, and magnitude. Desert Defenders is a citizen science program focused on mapping, and removing invasive species within the parks. The Invasive plant species have severely impacted our park's natural ecosystems and contributed [...]
Hassayampa River Preserve Trail Grooming Volunteers will assist park staff with trail raking and other light trail maintenance on 2.5 mile easy trail system. Work may also include pulling invasive weeds to help protect our native vegetation and reduce the threat of wildfire. Please meet at the Visitor Center for orientation and safety briefing. Work [...]
Join Ranger Kevin for a morning hike in search of seasonal beauty. Join Ranger Kevin for a 3-mile hike along the Gila, Baseline, Toothaker and Horseshoe Trails. We’ll be pausing to look at wildflowers and butterflies as well as a variety of desert plants and animals along the way. The trail is rated moderate with [...]
In this program/class we will recognize some common birds found in our desert and discuss some of the survival strategies used by these desert birds. Feel free to bring your lunch with you inside of our Nature Center as Jim Taylor (former biology teacher) and his wife, Judy, deepen our understanding of our feathered friends [...]
Homeschool Happenings: Amazing Arthropods! Join Ranger Kevin for the homeschool program “Amazing Arthropods!” We’ll be exploring spiders, scorpions, insects and more, looking at many ways these animals are both amazing and important members of the web of life! We will have animal ambassadors from the Desert Outdoor Center for this program. Meet at the Nature [...]
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