Botany Walk at the Mason Center

Trip difficulty: Easy. 1-mile loop over level, but often soft, uneven, and dusty terrain. Public restrooms are available.

Tucson Audubon’s Mason Center is a sanctuary where youth, families, educators, and others can appreciate the beauty of our local landscape, enjoy native wildlife, and learn about sustainable living in the Sonoran Desert. You may have been here in the past to go birding, but today we are going to focus on the plants of the Sonoran desert. Have you ever noticed that your favorite bird species are often observed in the same plant, no matter the location? Why is that? Tony Figueroa, Invasive Plant Program Manager, will be leading an educational plant walk around the Mason Center. This will be a fun informative walk, we will be walking slowly and looking at any and all plants that capture our attention. We would like to share the love of plants with the community and make the connection between plants and birds. We will discuss the importance of native species and the threats to critical habitats from non-native species.

Special note – You might typically bring binoculars with you to Tucson Audubon events, and you can bring them to this event also as we will stop to appreciate any birds we see. But our main focus will be looking at small plants and their fine structures so bring a magnifying glass, your readers, or a hand lens if you have one.

Leader: Tony Figueroa (TFigueroa@tucsonaudubon.org)

Registration for this trip is free. Register here beginning Feb 11, 7:00 AM.

Header Image: American Wigeon by Stephen Nelson