Earth Grant Blog

Help Us Restore the Flow! Learn about our Restoration Efforts in the Tanque Verde Creek

December 16th, 2022 / Matthew Jensen

My name is Matthew Jensen. I’m the River Run Network Intern with Watershed Management Group here in Tucson. Every day, I wake up, I go to class, go to work, and live my life. Every day, I drink lots of water because everyone needs water to live.

An Afternoon with SEEDS

November 21st, 2022 / Leona Davis

Q: What’s better than one program that supports diverse students in developing as environmental professionals?

A: THREE programs that support diverse students in their development as environmental professionals, gathered together on a late fall afternoon in Tucson, having a picnic!

Facilitating Climate Conversations at the Southwest Adaptation Forum

October 20th, 2022 / Lexis Meza

Earlier this month, Earth Grant intern Maria Mata Robles traveled to Albuquerque, NM with her Earth Grant internship mentors at Southwest Decision Resources (SDR) for the 2022 Southwest Adaptation Forum (SWAF), an event planned by SDR in collaboration with Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and several other organizations. She spent three days there, engaging in meaningful conversations about desert adaptation and gaining valuable experiences in conference facilitation.

Meet Lexis!

October 4th, 2022 / Leona Davis

We're thrilled to have one of last year's student cohort members, Lexis Meza, join our educational team this year as the Earth Grant Program Assistant. As Program Assistant, Lexis is co-facilitating leadership development workshops, managing our social media, and supporting outreach activities. We thought we’d sit down with Lexis and ask her a few questions, as an introduction to the Earth Grant community.

Introducing the 2022-23 Student Cohort

September 6th, 2022 / Leona Davis

This fall, we welcome a new Earth Grant cohort of 24 undergraduate students. Cohort members span 18 different majors across 8 departments, with professional ambitions ranging from wildlife conservation and natural resource management to librarianship, activism, environmental policy, urban planning, science communication, water quality, community outreach, and food sovereignty. More than half of our cohort are students of color, and two thirds identify as LGBTQ+.

Cultivating STEM Communities: The future of STEM Depends On Who Is Included

May 7th, 2022 / Samantha Mata Robles

In partnership with the Arizona SciTech Institute, Arizona Technology Council, and the University of Arizona (UAZ) Arizona Institute for Resilient Environments and Societies (Aire) Earth Grant; Startup Unidos hosted a virtual and bilingual preliminary event to the Techstars Startup Weekend that took place in Nogales, Sonora on April 29th, 2022.

A Living River; Our Duty and Connection to Nature

April 1st, 2022 / Jamie Irby

The Santa Cruz River was once a beauty that connected the residents of Tucson to nature, but now is the biggest trash bin in the county. Sonoran Institute has recognized this and has dedicated their efforts to bring it back to its original beauty, hoping that this lost relationship will return as well.

Spring Seeking Students

March 9th, 2022 / Micah Kaufmann

Recently, a small group of Earth Grant and College of Architecture and Planning (CAPLA) students got the opportunity to go on a group hike up to Rock Spring in Saguaro National Park, East. This is a place where the saguaros, sacred plants to the Tohono O’odham tribe, grow big and tall.

Putting Down New Roots

February 28th, 2022 / Leona Davis

“My father always encouraged my sister and I to be ‘global citizens,’” says Earth Grant student and Engineering sophomore Ani Melichar. Through Earth Grant, Ani is working with people from all over the world, by supporting the International Rescue Committee (IRC)’s New Roots program, an initiative to support recent refugees to Tucson in gardening, food production, nutrition, and generating revenue through farmers’ markets.

Veggies del Barrio

January 21st, 2022 / Leona Davis

Earth Grant student Paloma Martinez spends every Tuesday morning at Midtown Farm, in the Barrio Centro neighborhood of Tucson. Working alongside farm managers Jacob Robles and Brandon Alexander, Paloma walks the produce rows at the farm to see what vegetables are ready for harvest.

All About Integrated Pest Management

December 8th, 2022 / Jazz Lewandowski

My name is Jazz and I love working with plants. So much so, I have a collection of 159 houseplants at home! I worked at Awareness Ranch through the Earth Grant program for the Fall 2021 semester, and part of my work has been working with integrated pest management (IPM) techniques.

Studying Trash for a Cleaner Future

December 2nd, 2022 / Leona Davis

"Water bottle, plastic bag, another plastic bag, a piece of… soda bottle? Plastic...I think this one is an auto part, yeah? Another, no, two more plastic bags…” Jamie Irby, UArizona Environmental Science senior, points and describes half-buried trash items as she slowly walks a transect in the seasonally dry Santa Cruz River in Tucson.

Healthy Plants, Healthy Food, Healthy People

November 15th, 2021 / Leona Davis

Microbiology senior Madison Goforth arrives at 7am on a chilly fall morning to work with her mentors, Victor and Brandon, and a crew of regular volunteers at Nuestra Tierra garden, managed by the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona (CFBSA). Madison starts her morning by feeding the chickens and checking their water, then moves to the greenhouse, where she applies a mixture of fish emulsion, kelp, and organic pesticide Bt, to a variety of winter veggie seedlings.

UArizona Graduating Senior Survey Reveals the Importance of Internships, Especially for Underrepresented Students

November 2nd, 2021 / Leona Davis & Megan Forecki

Each year, UArizona Student Engagement & Career Development administers the Graduating Senior Survey to all UArizona graduating seniors, in effort to understand career destinations after graduation, as well as student satisfaction with their college education.

Architecture Student Learns to Build with the Earth

October 18th, 2021 / Leona Davis

Daniel Vega is a UArizona senior majoring in Sustainable Built Environments (SBE), a born-and-raised Tucsonan, and a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. He was attracted to the SBE program because of his lifelong relationship with the natural environment, and a desire to employ sustainable building practices in his tribal community.