Camp Cooper Class Trips Awarded To Two 2020 SARSEF Winners!

May 7, 2020
SARSEF winner 2020
Each year, we support the Southern Arizona Research, Science, and Engineering Foundation's annual fair with the Cooper Center Award of Excellence. This award is given to two projects that are focused on environmental issues and sustainability OR projects that address the relationship between humans and the natural world. We recognize one winner from upper elementary school grades and one in middle school.
 
The prize is a free field trip experience at Camp Cooper for the class of the winning students during the 2020-2021 school year!
 
Congratulations to Elias in Ms. Alvarez's 4th grade class at TUSD's Robins K-8 School for his winning project, "Wildlife Garden!" Elias focused his project on the relationship between wildlife in his neighborhood and planting native plants at his home.
 
And, congratulations to Ben in Ms. Anderson's 6th grade class at Agua Caliente School in Tanque Verde School District! Ben's project, "Why Don't California Fan Palms Grow Natively in Tucson Even though They Are Native to Arizona?" determined that Tucson's climate is drier than where fan palms are found in other parts of the state, and that it is important to use plants that will thrive in a desert environment when planting here.
 
We look forward to celebrating with Elias and Ben and their classes at Camp Cooper next year!
 
SARSEF winner 2020

Ben in Ms. Anderson's 6th grade class at Agua Caliente School with his winning project.

ben doing soil tests

Ben doing soil tests

Palm canyon refuge

Palm Canyon at Kofa National Wildlife Refuge near Yuma.

Ben's Project Findings

Why don’t California Fan Palms grow natively in Tucson even though they are native to Arizona?  

I learned palm trees in Tucson take a lot of care, and some people think they are a problem for Tucson because they aren’t native. I started researching palm trees in Tucson and learned about the California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera). It's the only palm tree that is native to Arizona. They grow in Palm Canyon at Kofa National Wildlife Refuge near Yuma.

I started my experiment by going to Palm Canyon.

I compared the conditions there (elevation, direction, pH, light, moisture, nitrogen, potash, phosphorus) and compared them to where other palm trees grow in Tucson to see if any conditions are different.

  • The notable differences were that in Palm Canyon the moisture level of the soil was higher and the light level was lower.
  • The information gained from the experiment will help people learn that the conditions in Tucson don’t support palm trees’ needs without additional care.

I hope my project will encourage people to plant native desert plants instead of palm trees in Tucson.