Spring updates from the BRN Education team

Spring has been a busy season for the newly hired BRN Education team. After hosting a successful Borderlands Earth Care Youth (BECY) program in March, Environmental Field Educator Karla Hernandez and Environmental Field Coordinator Xochitl Lopez jumped into developing additional public programming for the local community. 

In April, the BRN Education team welcomed 15 participants to take part in the 2026 Border BioBlitz, a citizen science effort on iNaturalist documenting flora and fauna along the U.S.-Mexico border, led by the Next Generation Sonoran Desert Researchers (N-Gen), Botanical Community Development Initiatives (BCDI), and the San Diego Natural History Museum.

Thanks to our friends at The Nature Conservancy, the BRN Education Team guided the Border BioBlitz participants through the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve along the Pradera Trail, a small section of the Cienega Loop, into the Railroad Trail, and back to the visitor center via the Creek Trail. We observed a variety of birds, including Wild Turkeys, Grey Hawks, Cardinals, Vermillion Flycatchers, and Gila Woodpeckers. The group also spotted Javelina, Texas Crescent butterflies, Whiptails, and scat from wildlife such as Coyotes, Javelina, and an American Black Bear. It was an amazing day to document wildlife across our beautiful borderlands!

This spring, we also began outreach with the local school in Patagonia, presenting to first grade students about bats and agaves, and their importance to our ecosystem in the borderlands. The BRN Education team then hosted the students at BRN’s Native Plant Nursery, where the group sowed agave seeds and transplanted agaves into larger pots from the ones they were originally planted in.

The BRN Education team also traveled to Hermosillo and Sahuaripa, Sonora, in April to further plan and develop this year’s Borderlands Field Course, which will be offered in November. Meeting with project partners in both Sonora regions, the team is excited to support innovative conservation projects in the region, led by our amazing partners.

Over four and a half days, we met with project partners Caminantes del Desierto, Nuesta Vida Verde, Gila Hikers, and La Tierra del Jaguar. The teams worked together to identify potential projects for Borderlands Field Course participants to contribute to, themes for each day, and scope potential project sites. Additionally, we met with previous field course participants, who provided insight into planning for recruitment, outreach, and overall participation in the course.

Following the project partner site visits, the BRN Education team left inspired for what’s to come. This summer, we will be planning and developing curriculum for both BECY Douglas and Borderlands Field Course, and hosting three special education events, one each month of the summer. Stay tuned for more information to come as the Education team develops its materials!