Arizona

The summer is almost over, and I’ve learned so much working in Saguaro National Park. I have worked in different projects, and I’ve had the chance to meet and work with amazing people. Most of the time we worked in the field, and during this...

Welcome to my three part series: Science Communication Saves Lives. In this blog series, I will be highlighting my field hitches into Grand-Canyon Parashant National Monument, Mojave National Preserve, and Joshua Tree National Park, so you can better understand what inventory and monitoring actually looks...

After 9 months in the canyon, it’s crazy to think that next week will be my last week here! I have had such a great experience working and living here. The people have been wonderful and the project influential. Our discoveries throughout the duration of...

We have talked about plants and insects, and today’s topic will be dedicated to some aquatic amphibians found at Saguaro National Park. The Park is surrounded by mountains and canyons, where water runs down to lower elevations and creates freshwater ecosystems such as springs, tanks,...

Even the most amazing projects can become less fun if you’re not working with the right people. Lucky for me, my mentor Meag is one of the most incredible humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. When I first arrived at the Grand Canyon,...

Monsoon season has officially started here in the desert and plants are starting to bloom! We have been getting cooler temperatures and cloudy days with some precipitation, which is an ideal weather for plant reproduction. Today’s blog will be dedicated to one plant species in...

As a vegetation intern, I’ve spent most of my time learning about a few of the over 1,700 known plant species found at the Grand Canyon. With an elevation gain of almost 6,000ft from the river to the North Rim, the canyon is able to...

One cool thing about working at Saguaro National Park, is the flexibility of assisting in many different projects. This week we worked on a citizen science nationwide project called ‘Dragonfly Mercury Project’ (DMP). It started in 2011 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and...

Sentry milk-vetch (SMV) is the Grand Canyon’s endangered plant species, and as of now it is only known to be at 12 locations on the South and North Rim. The populations on both rims face similar threats from climate change and trampling. Biologists in the...

The saguaro, (Carnegiea gigantea), is a giant columnar cactus that can grow up to 15 m tall and weigh several tons, of which at least 85% of the mass is water. This is the most common cactus species in Saguaro National Park and the one...