Invasive Plant Volunteer Events

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Saturday, October 4, 2025
Time: 7:30am - 10:00am

Organization: UA Pima County Cooperative Extension
Description: Come join us pulling buffelgrass out of the Pantano Wash! We look forward to our first event of the fall, with the goal of protecting our precious Pantano from invasive species. Volunteers should be comfortable working on uneven terrain in the heat. We will provide drinks and snacks after the event.
Meeting Location: We will depart from the south end of the Kolb Executive Park parking lot. From there, there will be a 5-10 minute walk along the Loop before safely entering the wash and beginning our buffelgrass removal.
Event location: 1550 N Kolb Rd, Tucson AZ 85715
Volunteers: 31 registered out of a total capacity of 30
Tools Provided: Yes
Bring: Water (2+ liters), snacks, backpack, sunscreen
Wear: Long sleeves, long pants, hat

Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Time: 7:00am - 11:00am

Organization: Sonoran Desert Weedwackers - Pima County Conservation Lands & Resources
Description: Join us for a beautiful morning of removing buffelgrass in Tucson Mountain Park! We will hike to an area with buffelgrass plants, dig up the plants with hand picks and digging bars, and carefully pile the plants to decompose on site. Volunteers should be comfortable with physically strenuous work including hiking on hillslopes off trail on rocky terrain. We'll provide snacks and drinks when we're finished.
Meeting Location: Ellie will send details on the specific meeting location within Tucson Mountain Park a couple days ahead of time. Text or call Ellie if you haven't received an email with meeting location details. A bathroom may or may not be available depending on the meeting location.
Event location: Tucson Mountain Park,
Volunteers: 0 registered out of a total capacity of 20
Tools Provided: lightweight digging bars, rock picks, work gloves
Bring: water (2 liters), snacks, backpack, sunscreen
Wear: hiking boots or sturdy shoes, long pants, sun protection (hat, sunglasses, long sleeves)
Additional Information: Our volunteer group works every 2nd & 4th Wednesday of the month and every 3rd Saturday of the month. Wednesdays tend to include more challenging terrain and/or further hikes.

Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Time: 6:30am - 10:30am

Organization: Town of Marana Parks and Recreation
Description: Join the Space Invaders volunteer program and help our Natural Resources team combat invasive plants in our open space parks! Volunteers will work alongside experts to identify and remove non-native species that threaten the health of our local ecosystems. This hands-on experience not only contributes to preserving the natural beauty and biodiversity of our parks but also provides a unique educational opportunity to learn about native flora and the impacts of invasive plants. Be a part of this vital effort to protect and restore our cherished green spaces while connecting with nature and like-minded community members. Ages 16 and Up
Meeting Location: Wild Burro Trailhead Parking Lot. Just past the Ritz-Carlton attendant shack
Event location: 14810 N Secret Springs Dr. , Marana, AZ 85658
Volunteers: 3 registered out of a total capacity of 10
Tools Provided: Yes
Bring: Water, snacks, sun protection
Wear: Long sleeves, long pants, closed toe shoes

Saturday, October 18, 2025
Time: 7:00am - 11:00am

Organization: Sonoran Desert Weedwackers - Pima County Conservation Lands & Resources
Description: Join us for a beautiful morning of removing buffelgrass in Tucson Mountain Park! We will hike to an area with buffelgrass plants, dig up the plants with hand picks and digging bars, and carefully pile the plants to decompose on site. Volunteers should be comfortable with physically strenuous work including hiking on hillslopes off trail on rocky terrain. We'll provide snacks and drinks when we're finished.
Meeting Location: Ellie will send details on the specific meeting location within Tucson Mountain Park a couple days ahead of time. Text or call Ellie if you haven't received an email with meeting location details. A bathroom may or may not be available depending on the meeting location.
Event location: Tucson Mountain Park,
Volunteers: 24 registered out of a total capacity of 30
Tools Provided: lightweight digging bars, rock picks, work gloves
Bring: water (2 liters), snacks, backpack, sunscreen
Wear: hiking boots or sturdy shoes, long pants, sun protection (hat, sunglasses, long sleeves)
Additional Information: Our volunteer group works every 2nd & 4th Wednesday of the month and every 3rd Saturday of the month. Saturdays tend to include easier terrain and/or shorter hikes.

Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Time: 7:00am - 11:00am

Organization: Sonoran Desert Weedwackers - Pima County Conservation Lands & Resources
Description: Join us for a beautiful morning of removing buffelgrass in Tucson Mountain Park! We will hike to an area with buffelgrass plants, dig up the plants with hand picks and digging bars, and carefully pile the plants to decompose on site. Volunteers should be comfortable with physically strenuous work including hiking on hillslopes off trail on rocky terrain. We'll provide snacks and drinks when we're finished.
Meeting Location: Ellie will send details on the specific meeting location within Tucson Mountain Park a couple days ahead of time. Text or call Ellie if you haven't received an email with meeting location details. A bathroom may or may not be available depending on the meeting location.
Event location: Tucson Mountain Park,
Volunteers: 0 registered out of a total capacity of 20
Tools Provided: lightweight digging bars, rock picks, work gloves
Bring: water (2 liters), snacks, backpack, sunscreen
Wear: hiking boots or sturdy shoes, long pants, sun protection (hat, sunglasses, long sleeves)
Additional Information: Our volunteer group works every 2nd & 4th Wednesday of the month and every 3rd Saturday of the month. Wednesdays tend to include more challenging terrain and/or further hikes.

Saturday, November 1, 2025
Time: 8 am- 12 pm

Organization: Catalina State Park Buffel Slayers
Description: Summer is over!? Re-emerge into the Sonoran Desert in beautiful Catalina State Park and get in for free! Have fun, get some exercise, and meet some like-minded folks! We had enough rain this summer to cause the Buffelgrass to green-up, so we'd better get busy and dig those plants out! Our saguaros are depending upon us to save them from wildfires.
Meeting Location: Meet at the Park Equestrian Center. At the entry station, tell the ranger you are a Buffel Slayer to get in for free. Take the first left after crossing the big wash. At the end of the road, past the camping loops, park on the left by the corrals and meet us on the right at the picnic tables.
Event location: 11570 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, AZ 85737
Volunteers: 3 registered out of a total capacity of 30
Tools Provided: Pick-mattocks, digging bars, work gloves, hand picks, kneeling pads
Bring: 2 Liters of water and energy snacks, suncreen, your own gloves if preferred, Trekking poles if you like
Wear: Long pants, long sleeved shirt, boots or sturdy hiking shoes, sun hats
Additional Information: We will hike 1.3 miles uphill to our site which is off-trail on a steep and rocky hillside. Moderate outdoor fitness is required. If under 18, I can email you a Waiver for Minors Form.

Friday, November 7, 2025
Time: 8:00am - 12:30pm

Organization: Saguaro National Park
Description: What better way to spend the first Friday of the month than pulling buffelgrass at Saguaro National Park? This event will be our kickoff in the winter volunteer season series called: First Friday Festival of Fun with Frank and Frankie We will meet at Frank's house in Picture Rocks (specific location shared after RSVP) to hike about 1 mile on a social trail to a population of buffelgrass that we have been hacking away at for a few years now. We keep patiently waiting for it to RAIN so our hearty buffelgrass spray crew can chemically treat the top portion of this monster population, but until then we will continue to manually remove its underbelly. Come dig out the guts with us while admiring the progress we've made and maintained with our manual treatments. Please come prepared to hike off trail over loose rocks and around pokey plants. Long pants, sturdy shoes, and drinking water required! Long sleeves, hat, sunglasses, and a smile are all recommended. We will provide any tools and PPE necessary to knock it out of the park.
Meeting Location: Location shared after RSVP. Meeting spot is on private land, graciously offered to us by Frank and saving us time and effort on the hike in.
Event location: , Picture Rocks, AZ
Volunteers: 0 registered out of a total capacity of 12
Tools Provided: All tools will be provided
Bring: 1-2 liters of water, a love for native plants
Wear: Long pants, sturdy shoes, sun protection of your choice

Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 7:00am - 11:00am

Organization: Town of Marana Parks and Recreation
Description: Join the Space Invaders volunteer program and help our Natural Resources team combat invasive plants in our open space parks! Volunteers will work alongside experts to identify and remove non-native species that threaten the health of our local ecosystems. This hands-on experience not only contributes to preserving the natural beauty and biodiversity of our parks but also provides a unique educational opportunity to learn about native flora and the impacts of invasive plants. Be a part of this vital effort to protect and restore our cherished green spaces while connecting with nature and like-minded community members. Ages 16 and Up
Meeting Location:
Event location: 14810 N Secret Springs Dr. , Marana, AZ 85658
Volunteers: 4 registered out of a total capacity of 10
Tools Provided: Yes
Bring: Water, snacks, sun protection
Wear: Long sleeves, long pants, closed toe shoes

Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Time: 7:00am - 11:00am

Organization: Town of Marana Parks and Recreation
Description: Join the Space Invaders volunteer program and help our Natural Resources team combat invasive plants in our open space parks! Volunteers will work alongside experts to identify and remove non-native species that threaten the health of our local ecosystems. This hands-on experience not only contributes to preserving the natural beauty and biodiversity of our parks but also provides a unique educational opportunity to learn about native flora and the impacts of invasive plants. Be a part of this vital effort to protect and restore our cherished green spaces while connecting with nature and like-minded community members. Ages 16 and Up
Meeting Location: Wild Burro Trailhead Parking Lot. Just past the Ritz-Carlton attendant shack
Event location: 14810 N Secret Springs Dr. , Marana, AZ 85658
Volunteers: 3 registered out of a total capacity of 10
Tools Provided: Yes
Bring: Water, snacks, sun protection
Wear: Long sleeves, long pants, closed toe shoes

Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Time: various times

Organization: Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Description: Help pull buffelgrass from areas surrounding the sheep grazing pens. Only those who volunteer, and are gentle, will have permission to get closer to the animals. You will be using a small pick to dig out clumps of grass.
Meeting Location: Usually we will meet at the lower parking lot of Sentinel Peak Park, but the location could vary. Pay attention to the message being sent out regarding exact location and time.
Event location: 1001 S. Sentinel Peak Rd., Tucson, AZ 85745
Volunteers: 29 registered out of a total capacity of 80
Tools Provided: Rock hammers and gloves will be provided.
Bring: Bring a refillable water bottle (FULL) and a pack to carry everything in. We strongly encourage the use of non-disposable water bottles as a pro-environmental measure.
Wear: Wear good hiking shoes, long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.
Additional Information: As mentioned before, there are not specific dates and times yet. Some will be morning, some will be afternoon. When we come up with times, we will send a message a few days ahead of time to all that are interested and whoever is able to show up joins us that day.

Retrieved from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum web site on 10-02-2025
http://buffelgrass.org/buffelgrass/pullsitelist.php?range=1966-03-01