Sabino Canyon Recreational Area in the Coronado National Forest
has been impacted by the government shutdown
yet remains open to the public with the help of volunteer organizations,
Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN)
and the Santa Catalina Volunteer Patrol (SCVP)
continuing to provide their services to the public.
One of the programs provided by the SCVN is daily
environmental education programs for k-6 students.
Each August teachers reserved a date to bring their class
to the Canyon starting in October.
Because of the shutdown, the Forest Service agreed
to make sure all trash is removed and the restrooms are clean
in the areas where the environmental education programs are taking place.
Teachers select from six programs designed to meet “core curriculum” goals.
Images by kenne
This past Thursday’s program was “Back To the Past.”
Students learned about the nature Americans
who lived in Sabino Canyon hundreds of years ago.
— kenne
“Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth
who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience,
and just plain loving one another.”
– Erma Bombeck
2019 Packathon at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Tucson (January 6, 2019) — Image by kenne
I have learned a lot from my hiking friends. — Image by kenne
Fred Heath Slide for One of His Butterfly Presentations
Hiking Douglas Spring Trail — Image by kenne
We began the tour by meeting at the McDonald’s at Catalina Highway where David provided an overview of the biomes of the Catalinas. Before starting the car caravan up Catalina Highway, David covered the lower biomes, the Saguaro-Palo Verde (100′ – 4,000′), which includes the dominant cacti and legume trees; the Desert Grassland (3,800″ – 5,000′) with grasses, succulents & shrubs being dominant. 
At about the 5.5-mile marker, we pulled off at Molino Basin where David lead a discussion on the Oak – Grassland biome (4,000′ – 5,600′) and Oak Woodland (5,000′ – 6,000′) biome. Here he used posters and the natural taurine to cover; Trees: Emory Oak, Mexican Blue Oak, Silverleaf Oak, Arizona White Oak, Alligator Juniper, Western Soapberry, Border Pinyon Pine: Shrubs: Mountain Yucca, Soap-Tree Yucca, Shindagger Agave, Sotol, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass; Grasses: AZ Panic Grass, Blue Grama, Sideoats Grama, Cane beard grass, Spidergrass, Bush Muhly, Bull Grass, Lehmann Lovegrass; Oak – Grassland: Oaks & Junipers, Chihuahua Pine, Buckbrush, Golden-flowered Agave, Mt. Yucca.
Our next stop was along the highway near Bear Creek to discuss the Riparian Corridor (Not a biome) where we found AZ Sycamore, AZ Walnut, Gooding Willow, Fremont Cottonwood, Velvet Ash, AZ Cypress, AZ Alder.
At the approximately the 5,400″ elevation we stopped at the Middle Bear Picnic/Green Mountain Trail Head to learn about Pine-Oak Woodland biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, Chihuahua Pine Silverleaf Oak, AZ White Oak, Emory Oak, Black Cherry, Alligator Juniper.
Next, we stopped at Windy Point Vesta(6,500′), a popular place for tourists driving up the scenic Catalina Highway. At this location, David talked about the Chaparral biome, which includes Silver Oak, AZ Madrone, Border Pinyon Pine, Alligator Juniper, Manzanita, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass, and Buckbrush.
At the 19.3-mile highway marker (7,825′), David leads a discussion on the Pine Forest biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Ponderosa Pine and occasional Douglas-Fir.
As you can see, David used live plant specimens on his posters.
Ever wonder how Mt. Lemmon got its name? The highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains (9,152′) was named after Sara Plummer Lemmon, a respected botanist from New Gloucester, Maine, who arrived in Arizona after living in coastal California. Her Arizona fate was sealed when she attended a botany lecture in 1876 led by her future husband, John Gill Lemmon, and the whirlwind romance was on. After four years of courtship, the two wed and worked together cataloging the flora of the West, which would lead them to the Coronado National Forest in the southern section of what was then the Arizona Territory.
A discussion on the last biome in our tour, Mixed Conifer Forest (Above 8,000′) took place at Bear Wallow (8,100). Here David illustrated the common plants in the Mixed Conifer Forest: Ponderosa Pine, AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Douglas-Fir, White Fir, Quaking Aspen; Silverleaf, Netleaf, and Gambel Oaks; Rocky Mountain, Big Tooth, and Box Elder Maples.
