Since 2011, I have been a volunteer naturalist at the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area
northeast of Tucson. The Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) have
partnered with the Santa Catalina Ranger District of Coronado National Forest to
offer educational programs for children and adults for more than 35 years.
Sabino Canyon North of the Hohokam Ruins
SCVN focuses on conservation, field trip programs for children k-6, nature walks,
guided hikes, and demonstrations designed to help the public learn about nature.
One of the most popular Elementary School field trip programs teaches children about the Hohokam people who lived in the Tucson basin hundreds of
years ago. (“Back To The Past”)
The Clay Remains Of A Hohokam Adobe Structure
The Hohokam organized villages constructing pithouses, sunken earthen, and
adobe structures with pounded floors and thatch roofs. To provide children at least
a basic understanding of the Hohokam, our naturalist training includes
presentations from anthropologists such as Drs. Paul and Suzanne Fish, who have
written on the “Hohokam Millennium.”
Larry Conyers Hiking Down To The Sabino Canyon Hohokam Ruins
As a member of SCVN, I have been provided just enough information “to be
dangerous.” So, one day when I was having a conversation with my neighbor and
anthropologist Larry Conyers, he asked me if I knew of the Hohokam ruins south of
Sabino Canyon Recreation Area near the old Fenster Boarding School. Maybe I had
been told about ruins, but when asked, I had no recollection.
The Fenster Boarding School In The Distance On The Right
We agreed on a day and time we would go to Sabino Canyon Recreation Area,
walk the Bear Canyon Trail before crossing the fenceline of the southern Canyon boundary.
Pieces of Pottery Placed On Nearby Stones
Larry and I spent a little over two hours in the ruins site, so this posting is only
meant to be a “snapshot” of what we experienced. The body of the posting content
contains links to additional anthropological information on the Sabino Canyon Ruins.
Students Panning For Garnets In Sabino Creek — Infrared Image by kenne
One of the programs taught by Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists to elementary school children is geology called “Strike It Rich.” They learn how the Santa Catalina Mountains were formed and the minerals contained in the “gneiss” rock.
The primary activity is panning for garnets (sand rubies) in Sabino Creek.
The students uncovered the link between the towering granite cliffs
above the Tucson Basin and all that lies below.
Mallard Duck At Hutch’s Pool In The Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
Hutch’s Pool is a small body of water that contains water year-round, located 8 miles for the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center. Most people hiking to Hutch’s Pool will take the tram up to stop 9, thereby reducing the 16-mile roundtrip by 7.5 miles. The Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) usually schedule a group hike twice a year, once in the Fall and once in the Spring. The hike provides very nice views
of upper Sabino Canyon, images of which I have shared many times on this blog. This time I decided to share a photo of this male mallard duck few years back.
2020 is the Year of the Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Health Assembly (WHA) as the year to honor nurses and midwives to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale who is considered the founder of modern nursing. Nurses and midwives are vital to providing health services to our communities. These people are devoting their lives to caring for mothers and children, giving lifesaving immunizations and health advice, looking after older people, and generally meeting everyday essential health needs. And they are often the first and only point of care, yet the world needs 9 million more nurses and midwives if it is to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.
The vital role of the nurse becomes a metaphor for those of us (Sabino Canyon Volunteer Nationalists) involved in teaching elementary school children about the importance and survival of saguaros in Sabino Canyon and the Sonoran Desert.
SCVN member, Debbie Bird, telling third graders about the “Nurse Tree.” (She also got the attention of an elderly couple visiting Sabino Canyon.)
Often, for young saguaros to survive, they are located near another faster-growing tree that shelters the slower-growing plant by providing shade, shelter from the wind and sun, or protection from animals that may feed on the young plant. Such a plant is called a nurse tree. A metaphor easily understood by the children in conveying the important relationship between the tree and the saguaro. They get it!
— kenne
“Even though they’re dead, they are not gone — trees find a way to help each other out postmortem.”
There’s a narrow trail that you have to scramble up a few feet before heading down under twisted alligator junipers. The best way to experience these ancient hoodoos along the Catalina Highway is to attack them from the rear, sorta speak.
This SCVN Friday Hike was to have two parts; explore the hoodoos followed by a hike from the Gordon Hirabayashi Campgrounds to Molino Basin. The hoodoos segment was led by naturalist Edi Moore, who is s long-time member of the Monday Morning Milers (MMM). The MMM was the first hiking group I begin hiking with after moving to Tucson. It was with the MMM that I first had an opportunity to explore the Catalina Highway Hoodoos. Of the 20 hikers on this Friday, Edi and I were the only ones to which this experience was not new. The views in and around the hoodoos are something else.
— kenne
Images by kenne Click here to see more Catalina Highway Hoodoo photos.
Madera Canyon is always a beautiful canyon in which to hike especially in the fall when the
Arizona Sycamores are in color. This SCVN Friday hike, in the Santa Rita Mountains,
provided a nice contrast to our usual hikes in the Santa Catalina Mountains.
This image is looking down on Madera Canyon below some of the higher pikes in the Santa Ritas
(The highest is Mt. Wrightson on the right with an elevation of 9,453 feet.)
Our hike began down near a dried-up creek bed, then taking us up along the canyon’s edge.
What a beautiful day to be hiking with friends and nature lovers.
Images by kenne
“Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow
Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead
Walk beside me… just be my friend”
Sabino Canyon North of the Hohokam Ruins
The Clay Remains Of A Hohokam Adobe Structure
Larry Conyers Hiking Down To The Sabino Canyon Hohokam Ruins
The Fenster Boarding School In The Distance On The Right
Larry Conyers Exploring The Ruins Site
Pieces of Pottery Placed On Nearby Stones
“Learning About Nature” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Students Panning For Garnets In Sabino Creek — Infrared Image by kenne
Mallard Duck At Hutch’s Pool In The Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
A “Nurse Tree” In Sabino Canyon — Images by kenne
SCVN member, Debbie Bird, telling third graders about the “Nurse Tree.” 
This image is looking down on Madera Canyon below some of the higher pikes in the Santa Ritas
