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Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag
Water is Life

PROGRAM DETAILS

Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag means ‘Water is Life’ in the language of the Tohono O’odham (TO), a desert Indigenous community located along what is today known as the US/Mexico border. At a recent Climate Change Forum, TO youth discussed their endangered water resources, voicing a desire to preserve rainwater and groundwater, and to connect more deeply with their himdag or ‘Way of Life.’ 

Baboquivari High School and Borderlands Restoration Network collaborated to pilot an after-school program that hired BHS students to work alongside conservation professionals, designing and installing a rainwater-harvesting native plant and heritage food garden on campus. This program, called Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag, was designed for TO youth to earn valuable skills, training, and work experience. 
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Attention Baboquivari High School students, ages 15+!
Borderlands Restoration Network, Baboquivari High School, and Tohono O'odham Community College are collaborating to bring the second year of Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag (Water Is Life), a paid after school internship designed to engage O'odham youth in cultural rainwater harvesting education and activities. The program will begin with online remote training and end with a hands-on rainwater harvesting project on campus.

Please send completed applications to Damien Carlos, dcarlos@busd40.org, by 5pm on Friday, October 23.  Interviews will take place the week of October 26-30 and offers to 10 interns will be made on Friday, October 30.    
DOWNLOAD APPLICATION

Thank you partners & supporters!

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PROGRAM HISTORY

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BHS is located near Sells, AZ, the modern-day capital of the TO Nation along what today is recognized as the US/Mexico border. This large reservation, equal in land area to the state of Connecticut, is in the heart of the Sonoran Desert and receives less than 10” of rain per year.

While the TO have lived on these arid lands for many generations, the reservation's groundwater resources face increasing encroachment from Tucson’s urban sprawl and for concrete footers of the new border wall, endangering himdag  for the people who have lived here long before Tucson was founded.

​In 2018, Desert Diamond Casino and The North Face funded a one-year pilot program designed and coordinated by BHS and BRN staff. One student from the TOCC was hired to facilitate the paid after-school program, leading daily activities. Thirteen BHS students were then hired as interns with Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag.

​Between August 2018 and May 2019, the Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag interns met weekly after school with TOCC, BHS, and BRN mentors to design and install the on-campus rainwater harvesting design. To gain inspiration for their project, interns first visited Tucson’s Manzo Elementary School, a Tucson community Flowers & Bullets cistern-installation project, the Watershed Management Group’s urban demonstration site, and Patagonia Union High School’s rainwater fed pond and native plant terraces.
Interns collectively developed a design, selected the name Ju:ki Oidag (or 'Rain Garden'), and presented it to BHS administration and staff for approval before installation began. Working with professionals, Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag interns then hand-shaped the earth to accept water, reinforced high places with harvested rock, built a central Watho (or ‘Ramada’), planted native pollinator-attracting plants, and constructed a rain cistern with Flowers & Bullets.
In April, the Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag program was presented the annual Stewardship Award by the Tohono O’odham Environmental Protection Office at the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Earth Day Festival. The program concluded at the end of the school year with a community graduation ceremony, where youth first led guided tours of Ju:ki Oidag to visitors, shared a meal with the community, and received graduation certificates, post-graduation Resource Guides, and community-designed t-shirts.
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Credit to Dennis Caldwell Design for creation of the Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag program signage. Click to view full image.


​The Future 

The Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wud Doakag program relies on the generous support of donors, grants from foundations, and sponsorships to continue the program and has been funded for 2020 thanks to generous grant funding from the Marshall Foundation. Stay tuned for further details as we roll out plans for 2020! 

                                            Contact us with questions about this program or make a donation today!
DONATE TODAY!

Location

Physical Address:
1 School Street
​Patagonia, AZ 85624

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 121
Patagonia, AZ 85624

Contact Us

General Contact:
E-mail: 
info@borderlandsrestoration.org
Phone Number: (520) 216-4148

BR Native Plant Nursery

42 San Antonio Road, Patagonia, AZ
**See instructions for how to buy our plants.**
Contact:
Francesca Claverie, Native Plant Program Manager 
​E-mail: horticulture@borderlandsrestoration.org
Phone Number: (520) 276-2483

BRN Seed Lab

1 School Street - Patagonia, AZ
**online sales only**
Email: horticulture@borderlandsrestoration.org
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Hours of Office Operation:
**BRN is currently operating mostly remotely. Please contact us via email or by phone.**
Monday-Thursday: 8AM-3PM
Friday: By Appointment
​Saturday-Sunday: Closed
  • Who We Are
    • BRN Mission & Vision >
      • Policies
      • Annual Report
      • Strategic Plan
    • Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
    • Why a Network
    • Meet Our Team
    • BRN Fellows
    • Meet the Network >
      • Borderlands Restoration Network 501c3
      • Borderlands Restoration, L3c
      • Wildlife Corridors
      • Cuenca Los Ojos
    • Meet Our Partners
  • What we do
    • Educational Programs >
      • Borderlands Earth Care Youth Institute
      • Water is Life
      • Field Studies
      • Women Grow Food
    • Native Plant Program >
      • Native Plant Program
      • Our Plants & Seeds
      • Wholesale & Contract Opportunities
      • Current Projects & Initiatives
      • Regional Seed Strategy
    • Watershed & Habitat Restoration
    • Borderlands Wildlife Preserve
  • News
  • Events
    • Nature Walk Program
    • Bat Appreciation Day
    • Migratory Bird Day
  • Donate
  • Join Us
    • Job Opportunities
    • Volunteer
    • ENewsletter
  • Blog
  • Buy Seeds & Merch