Summer spotlights and exciting fall prospects from the Education team

Summer has kept the BRN Education team busy with various events and fall program planning.

The BRN Education team welcomed summer by tabling at Studio C, a Carly Quinn Designs Studio event celebrating the summer solstice. We glazed our own Sonoran Desert-themed tile and talked to participants about the work we do at BRN, from restoration ecology to place-based learning and community engagement.

Additionally, we welcomed a visiting group, Where There Be Dragons, from the California Bay Area in early June. The group immersed themselves in our borderlands region, learning about the vital roles of bats and agaves. Undertaking agave transplanting and seed sowing at BRN’s native plant nursery, they discovered the significance of drought-tolerant and desert-adapted plants grown here. The group ended their day at The Nature Conservancy’s Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, learning about the ecological significance of riparian ecosystems in our borderlands region.

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The BRN Education team is honored to have been invited to Pollinator Field Day at Kartchner Caverns, where we facilitated an interactive activity that highlighted bat migration throughout the borderlands while creating personalized pollinator field guides. Our heartfelt thanks to Kartchner Caverns State Park for the warm invitation and cave tour. We eagerly anticipate future collaborations!

To celebrate the arrival of monsoon season, we kicked off our first event in Nogales, AZ, OUTDOORS TOGETHER / JUNTOS AUFERA, a 1.5-mile walk through the vibrant downtown Nogales Morley Arts District. We admired some of the beautiful murals in Nogales that beautifully reflect the essence of the Sky Island region where we live and work.

A significant milestone this summer for the BRN Education team is opening the Borderlands Earth Care Youth (BECY) internship application on August 1st. With applications remaining open until September 1st, we invite aspiring youth ages 16-20 from Cochise County to join us during fall break. More information can be found on our website, or follow this link to apply. We look forward to working with youth from Cochise County this fall break!

A special shoutout to Dr. Michelle Marie, who helped us host our first educational webinar, Finding Your Way to an Authentic Career. She shared helpful tips on how to navigate a job search while staying true to your personal and professional endeavors. We appreciate those who came ready to learn, asked engaging questions, and shared about their journeys navigating career changes. We look forward to future collaborations with Dr. Michelle Marie to provide these sorts of opportunities!

To conclude our summer, we are collaborating with Border Community Alliance for their Borderlands Literature and Film Circle event to offer a free Zoom webinar, where we will share our efforts to restore desert ecosystems and wildlife corridors. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, August 12, 10-11:30 am, with a suggested donation of $10. We hope you can join us, and we deeply appreciate your support.

Thank you for an incredible summer – we look forward to connecting more in the fall!