Sonoran Institute

We hope to see you at Thursdays Green Drinks Tucson at MotoSonora Brewing Company

This month's special guest is Leigh Sontheimer with and a special screening of their urban forestry documentary "A Place of Trees"

We are excited to share that Sonoran Institute staff have published a paper about the Growing Water Smart program and GWS community outcomes in the academic journal Water! This paper dives into Growing Water Smart’s unique approach to addressing water scarcity by integrating water and land use planning, and shares three case studies of collaborative water resilience that resulted from the program in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, the Verde Watershed in Arizona, and between the sister cities of Douglas, Arizona and Agua Prieta, Sonora along the US-Mexico border. Successes in each of these communities point to the value of the Growing Water Smart program in creating the dedicated time and space for local governments to create action plans for water resilience, which are creating tangible impacts across the Southwestern US and Northern Mexico.

This paper is published in a special issue of Water, titled “Working Across Borders to Address Water Scarcity.” The journal is open access, so you can see the special issue here: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water/special_issues/5I6012V0Q6

And read the Growing Water Smart article here: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/18/11/1345

Join us next Thursday for Green Drinks Tucson monthly gathering
Thursday, May 21, 5:30 – 7:30 PM, MotoSonora Brewing Company

Featured Guest Speakers:
Ylenia Aguilar is the Senior Campaign Organizer for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Arizona, leading grassroots organizing and utility accountability efforts across Southern and Central Arizona.

Sam Cloud is the Clean Energy Organizer for Arizona at Greenlight America. With a background in social work, nonprofit leadership, and grassroots organizing, she has built coalitions, trained volunteers, and worked closely with rural communities across Arizona to advance clean energy, civic engagement, and equitable community development.

Ward 1's Participatory Budget is open for voting!

Rio Relay, our trash pick-up 5k is eligible to receive $10,000 for the next iteration of this community event. The first version of this event brought out 10 teams, 150+ community members, racers, and organization leaders to connect with the Santa Cruz River while removing over 2,200 pounds of trash. With this budget, we will be able to host a second 5k clean-up and hope to double our impact–removing 5,000 pounds of trash and connecting with over 300 members of the Ward 1 and Tucson Community.

Voting is open until May 31st. This is ranked choice voting, so simply place your favorite initiatives in order. Please take the time to learn and vote on all the community initiatives that will benefit Ward 1 and Tucson.

Vote here:
https://www.tucward1.com/participatorybudgeting
Or check the "events" link in our bio!