Dragonfly Day at Rio Salado

The rain is gone, the sun is out, and now is an excellent time to get out and learn about our own urban riparian areas and how to save extra money by harvesting rainwater! Come on out to Dragonfly Day on Saturday, February 23rd from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

The event will incorporate science, art and recreation into a fun-filled event for families. Educational booths, wildlife demonstrations, food trucks, face painting and natural art will be showcased around the trailhead at 2439 S. Central Ave., Phoenix, and at the Rio Salado Audubon Center at 3131 S. Central Ave., Phoenix. A brand-new walking path will connect the two sites.

Experts will lead walks to the demonstration wetlands, where participants can identify dragonflies, view the new butterfly habitat and participate in water-quality testing activities.

This is the first major event at the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area since the 2006 grand opening. It also marks the first collaboration among the Arizona SciTech Festival, the Maricopa County Master Watershed Stewards, the City of Phoenix and Audubon Arizona.
 For more info go to: http://azscitechfest.org/events/dragonfly-day-rio-salado

Salt River Cleanup on Saturday Feb. 16th

Have you ever spent the day at the lower Salt River taking what you thought were magnificent photos of snowy egrets hiding among the trees, only to get home and download them and discover the "egrets" were white plastic grocery bags flapping in the breeze?  Or had the perfect shot of the wild horses posing majestically along the river's edge, then realize the shot is ruined by soda cans and trash accumulated at the shoreline?

Well now is your chance to get out to your favorite spot along the Salt River and clean it up! 

The Mesa Ranger District Office is holding a cleanup this Saturday from 8am to 12pm.  Registration is from 8 to 9 am at Blue Point Recreation area (see directions below).  Participants will sign-in and receive directions to trash pick-up locations.  The trash pick-up begins immediately after sign-in and will continue until about noon when lunch will be provided at no cost to volunteers

Tonto Daily Passes are not required for participation in this event. The Tonto National Forest will provide trash bags. The majority of the clean-up will occur in the river bed near water so participants must wear closed-toe, rubber-soled shoes that can be worn in rocky terrain. We urge you to wear sunscreen, hats, gloves, and bring trash pickers if available. Participants are also urged to bring plenty of water as bottled water may not be provided. Thank you for helping keep our waterways clean!

Directions to Volunteer Sign-In Location: The Blue Point Recreation Site is located 20 miles northeast of Mesa. From Mesa, travel east on the Superstition Freeway (US 60) to Power Road/Bush Highway and turn north. Follow Power Road which will turn into Bush Highway for 15 miles to the Blue Point Recreation site. The entire route is paved.

http://www.mrdvolunteers.org/hp.html 

Amy Racki, Volunteer Coordinator
 aracki@fs.fed.us

Its also a perfect time to gather up discarded fishing line before the birds start using the dangerous mono filament in their nests this spring.  Remember the "Roadrunner Rescue" at Desert Botanical Garden last spring? Momma roadrunner was hanging upside down hopelessly entangled in fishing line from her nest and would have died had she not been discovered by photographers and carefully cut free.

Wordless Wednesday

Photos courtesy of me!  ;-)