Elementary, Middle, and High School
Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation offers K-12 field study school programs in Pima County parks and preserves. Selected programs are available at your schoolyard or classroom.
The following field study trips and classroom programs are linked to Arizona Academic Standards. There is a minimum group size of 15 students for all programs with the exception of the Self-Guided Nature Study. Reservations are required for all school programs. Lesson plans and teacher resources are available.
For information or reservations please call 520-724-5375 or email Environmental Education
Our Locations
Agua Caliente Park
12325 E. Roger Road, Tucson 85749
Located on the east side of Tucson, Agua Caliente Park features a pond and an exceptionally rich mix of plants, wildlife, and historical features. Some of the programs offered at this park can accommodate up to seventy-five students. Facilities include a classroom, shaded picnic tables, restrooms and water fountains, and paved and hard packed trails.
Brandi Fenton Memorial Park
3482 E. River Road, Tucson 85718
This central Tucson location offers a convenient location and features a beautiful “Butterfly Garden” and is suitable for large and small school groups. Facilities include a classroom, shaded outdoor spaces, picnic tables, restrooms, water fountains, paved and hard-packed trails.
Feliz Paseos Park
1600 N. Camino de Oeste, Tucson 85745
Located in the saguaro studded foothills of the Tucson Mountains. Facilities include shade ramadas with seating benches, paved and hard packed trails, restrooms, and water fountains.
Pima Prickly Park
3500 W. River Road, Tucson 85741
This nine-acre desert park in northwest Tucson highlights native cactus and succulent species. Pima Prickly Park features more than a mile of handicap-accessible walking paths and two ramadas with picnic tables.
Tucson Mountain Park-Desert Discovery Center
7798 W. Gates Pass Road, Tucson 85735
The Desert Discovery Center in Tucson Mountain Park showcases spectacular desert scenery, outstanding geologic features, and wildlife viewing. Programs at this facility can only accommodate small groups of 25 students or less. The center has rocky, narrow nature trails, a small classroom, and limited restroom facilities.
Historic Canoa Ranch
5375 S. I-19 Frontage Road, Green Valley 85622
The Raúl M. Grijalva Canoa Ranch Conservation Park comprises 4,800 acres of the original San Ignacio de la Canoa land grant. Historic Canoa Ranch, the 30-acre ranch headquarters, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. People from all periods of time have contributed to the special history of this place. Facilities include picnic tables, restrooms, and water fountains as well as Ramadas along Canoa Lake.
Wetland Wildlife Habitat Field Study
Grades: 4 – 6 and 7 – 12
Group Size: 15 – 30 students
Duration: Pre-trip Orientation 1 class period (optional), Field Study Trip 2.5 hours
Location: Agua Caliente Park
Students run a scientific study of a wetland habitat. Data collected include plant and animal diversity and abundance and abiotic factors that may affect such abundance. Data and photographic documentation are made available to classrooms for further analysis. A pre-field trip orientation by our staff at your school is highly recommended.
Lesson Plan for 4-6
Lesson Plan for 7-12
Pollinator Survey
Grades: K – 3, 4 – 6, and 7 – 12
Group Size: 15 – 60 students
Months offered: August – October and March – early May
Duration: 2.5 – 3 hours
Locations: Agua Caliente Park, Feliz Paseos Park, Tucson Mountain Park-Desert Discovery Center, Pima Prickly Park*, Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, and Historic Canoa Ranch
Learn about plants, pollinators, and pollination. Students use digital cameras to record pollinator populations. The class collects barrel cactus data and counts the seeds within a ripe fruit. This seed count, used as an indicator of pollinator population health, is submitted to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for use by scientists to help identify and understand local pollinator hotspots. Data collected are compiled with existing data sets and made available to the class for further analysis in the classroom. *A Pollinator Survey and Propagation Project extended program may be scheduled at Pima Prickly Park.
Lesson Plan for K-3
Lesson Plan for 4-6
Lesson Plan for 7-12
Living River of Words Youth Arts and Science (LROW) Residency
Grade: K – 12
Group Size: 25 – 60 students
Months Offered: October – Mid-January
Duration: 2.5 to 3-hour field trip and 3-4 class periods
Locations: Agua Caliente Park, Santa Cruz River, Historic Canoa Ranch, and Your School
Students explore how water moves through the landscape and the connections that plants, animals, and people have to water. After exploring these topics, students have the opportunity to share their impressions with entries of poetry and/or visual art to Living River of Words: Youth Poetry and Art Contest.
These multi-disciplinary residency programs are offered to K – 12 schools with an interest in participating in Living River of Words: Youth Poetry and Art Contest. The LROW Arts and Science Residency includes:
• A 1-hour pre-field virtual classroom session (one with each class participating)
• A 2.5 to 3-hour field trip to a local water body and study water quality; aquatic life; riparian habitats; and poetry, art, or photography
• Two or three 1-hour sessions with a teaching artist (virtually or outdoors at your school) for students to complete their contest entries.
The duration and specific lesson plans for the LROW School Residency are determined at the time of scheduling and tailored to accommodate group size, grade level, and time available. For more information, visit the Living River of Words site.
Living River of Words Youth Arts and Science (LROW): Independent Learning
In addition to LROW residencies with schools, individuals and groups are encouraged to engage independently in this interdisciplinary program connecting youth (ages 5-19) to the wonders of water through nature, art, and science.
By using resources on our website or joining a community workshop, youth and their families are encouraged to learn about water in their community, explore and observe the natural world, and reflect on their experiences through art and poetry. Youth are then invited to share their creativity with the community by entering the annual Living River of Words: Youth Poetry and Art Contest. Submissions are due February 1, 2022.
Ecosystem Discovery
Grades: K – 8
Group Size: 15 – 75 students
Duration: 2 hours
Location: Agua Caliente Park, Brandi Fenton Park, Historic Canoa Ranch, and Pima Prickly Park
Explore the diversity of life in riparian and desert ecosystems through guided, hands-on exploration. Students use binoculars and hand lenses to make observations and work as a class to understand the interrelationships between plants, animals, and the environment.
Lesson Plan
Bat Research Simulation
Grades: K-3, 4-8 and 9-12
Group Size: 15 – 60 students
Duration: 2 hours
Locations: Agua Caliente Park, Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, and Historic Canoa Ranch
Students learn about the fascinating lives of bats while they practice scientific field research methods during this outdoor bat netting simulation. Students collect model bats, take measurements, identify species, and record data which are compared to actual bat data from research in Southern Arizona.
Lesson Plan for 1-3
Lesson Plan for 4-8
Aquatic Ecosystems
Grades: K – 8
Group Size: 15 – 30 students
Months offered: October – November, and March – May
Duration: 2.5 hours
Location: Agua Caliente Park and Historic Canoa Ranch
The ponds at Agua Caliente Park and Historic Canoa Ranch are teeming with life. Use nets, skimmers, and buckets to collect water samples and then watch the water come to life under the viewers. Students refine their observations skills and sketch aquatic invertebrates.
Lesson Plan
Making it Work: Life at Canoa Ranch
Grades: K – 6
Group Size: 15 – 60 students
Months Offered: November – early April
Duration: 2 – 2.5 hours
Location: Historic Canoa Ranch
Discover the rich history of ranching in the Santa Cruz River Valley, from Spanish and Mexican settlers, to the Gadsden Purchase that led to the American period represented by the Manning family’s ownership of Canoa Ranch. Students tour Historic Canoa Ranch, try their hand at ‘roping’, design a cattle brand, and engage in other interactive activities that showcase life on a working ranch to learn how people utilized the natural resources in creative ways to sustain their way of life.