Sonoran Institute Colorado Gives Day

A nonprofit organization

14% complete

$60,000 Goal

We believe that if the most adversely impacted communities are heard and able to build resilience, then everyone benefits alongside them. That's why we work at the community level to connect people to the natural resources they depend on. It all starts with people who care - people just like you.

Our accomplishments this year:

Installed two trash traps in the Tucson area, stopping debris from flowing into the Santa Cruz.
Partnered to host monthly Santa Cruz River Clean-ups with local partners, cumulatively removing over 6 tons of trash and invasive species from the river.
Celebrated our 15th Santa Cruz River Research Days and are preparing to host our 16th symposium, A Watershed of Protection.
Held our annual Santa Cruz River Dragonfly Days Festival for the entire month of September with multiple events each week, connecting arts, science and community of all ages. In 2025 we connected with 3,800 community members and hope to reach 4,000 this September!
Hosting the FIRST EVER Trash Clean-up 5k, the Rio Relay in Tucson on April 18th.
Led Growing Water Smart Workshops along the border and throughout Arizona, including our most recent workshop with Graham County, Santa Cruz County, Nogales, Sonora, Bullhead City, and Willcox.
Funded work in Yavapai County and Town of Jerome to assist in meeting their goals laid out in the 2025 Arizona Growing Water Smart workshop.
Connected with the local Tucson environmental scene with monthly Green Drinks Tucson events.

Testimonials

"My father had such respect and appreciation for the land, and he instilled that in me. To see that beautiful area where he grew his crops come back to life-I just felt that restoring the Delta needed my support. It's restoring the people's pride and bringing responsible commercial opportunities. These days, we are so busy building fences and walls along the border. With this project, we are building hope."
- Rowene Aguirre-Medina, board member, Sonoran Institute

"Working with the Sonoran Institute, I learned both the practice and the value of partnerships and how collaboration creates community and natural wellbeing. The recent collaboration between Watershed Management Group and Sonoran Institute at New Hope-Nueva Esperanza Church in Tucson, Arizona, has proven once again that this is the way to create strongcommunities and functional landscapes. ¡Vamos por más!"
- Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar, cultural ecologist, Watershed Management Group

Mission

The Sonoran Institute's mission is to connect people and communities with the natural resources that nourish and sustain them.

Background Statement

Since 1990, the Sonoran Institute has brought together diverse interests to successfully forge effective and enduring conservation solutions in the face of rapid growth and change. Through civil dialogue, collaboration, and capacity building, we work with local communities and partners toward a shared vision of lasting prosperity. We have assisted others in better understanding the drivers of change and their implications for their quality of life. The constancy of change has always been a narrative thread in explaining the work of the Sonoran Institute. Rather than resist change, we have helped others embrace it and ultimately emerge the better from it.

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