It has been a busy month for the Nature Club!
Ann Pizzitola, our President, has appointed a new treasurer—Dan Malueg—to fill in for Riley Jackson who sadly passed away in March. Riley was a long-time supporter of the SadleBrooke Nature Club, and he will be sorely missed.
Our program on Thursday, April 30 was a discussion of water resources in SaddleBrooke where the water comes from and where it goes. The presenter was Tom Brothen, a SaddleBrooke resident and Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota who has long had an interest in water resources. Tom gave a wide-ranging talk on the geology of the area, a history of pre-SaddleBrooke water usage in the area, and water usage in SaddleBrooke today. SaddleBrooke sits on a bathtub type aquifer at the base of the Catalina Mountains with 10 wells tapping the aquifer. Much of this water goes to irrigation and our water system is designed to prevent flooding but not to retain water. Tom discussed how water shortages in Oro Valley could result in more water being taken from the SaddleBrooke aquifer. He also discussed some ways to retain water to preserve this precious resource. The program was attended by 67 people. Our raffle winner was Dan Malueg who received the book “Where the Water Goes” by David Owen.
On Thursday, April 23, we had a picnic for club members at Catalina State Park. Sixty-four people attended the lunch of chicken, sides and cake on a beautiful day. Members of the club gave remarks remembering Riley Jackson, our treasurer.
Our May program was “Monsoon Mysteries” presented by Sandy and Chris Reith. Sandy is a frequent presenter at the Nature Club and has worked at the Phoenix Zoo, Arizona Game & Fish and Pima County Conservation Lands Resources. Her husband, Chris, spent many years in the Navy and at the National Weather Service. Sandy talked about the monsoon in Tucson where we have received anywhere from 1.59” to 13.84” of rain during the summer monsoon season since records began. She discussed how monsoon rain affects wildlife, especially toads, frogs, spiders and insects.
Chris Reith took over to discuss the origin of the word “meteorology” which translates as “things in the sky”—like lightning, rain, etc. He discussed lightning and El Nino among other topics and recommended the website weather.cod.edu/satrad for weather forecasts and info. 82 people attended the talk. Our raffle winner was Ann Olson who received the book, “Conversational Weather: The North American Monsoon” by Jonny William Malloy.
The next presentation will be in October, although we may have a field trip this summer. Watch your email or SaddleBrooke papers for more information.
For more information on the Nature Club please check our website at saddlebrookenatureclub.org.
Nancy Guthrie's Tucson neighbors: Life with streamers 'unbearable'
