Great Progress at Barrio Kroeger Lane

By Kendall Kroesen, Habitats Program Manager

After last summer’s epic project in Barrio Kroeger Lane, Tucson Audubon continues to be involved there. Last summer we put in large rainwater harvesting basins with native trees and shrubs along 18^th Street, Kroeger Lane, and 19^th Street in the neighborhood. The work was done by a coalition including Tucson Audubon, Southwest Conservation Corps, Regina Romero’s Ward 1 City Council Office, and City of Tucson Department of Transportation. Funding included money from a TogetherGreen (www.togethergreen.org) innovation grant.

See this fabulous video that covers the work done last summer: www.youtube.com/TucsonAudubonSociety#p/a/f/0/EgqXfYTA-tQ.

On March 12 we held a volunteer effort there to clean trash and weeds out of the basins, assess the health of the native plants we planted, water the plants and spread some additional mulch.

The work went very well. With 34 people in attendance we got all the work done we had hoped. Two families of the middle school students who worked there last summer came to help! That’s dedication!

Most of the plants are doing great, in spite of the big freeze in February. They should have gotten a great watering in the April 9 rainfall. Visit the neighborhood this summer to see native vegetation thriving on rainwater!