Author: Brad Lancaster

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Spadefeet – The Amphibians of Dunbar/Spring

Couch’s Spadefoot Toad. Photo: Brad Lancaster

By Robert VillaTucson Herpetological Society, TucsonHerpSociety.org Our Devonian and Mesozoic Neighbors We are fortunate to live in a vibrant and diverse barrio of people, art, food, community, and urban ecology.  […]

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Planting, Harvesting, Eating, Enjoying, and Learning from Cholla Cactus

Cholla cuttings from a harvest adjoining the aptly named Cholla Blvd. Photo: Brad Lancaster

Yes, cholla cactus is thorny, but it has a caring heart, delicious flower buds, and so much more. When I learned how to harvest, process, and enjoy the tasty, calcium-rich […]

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Have spot in need of a small tree? How about a creosote bush!

Figure 1. Creosote left of public path is a good choice where you want a small “tree”, such as here where a regular-sized tree would grow into the overhead utility lines.

I love how the desert smells when the rain drops on the creosote bush. You can replicate this effect by putting a sprig of creosote in your outdoor shower—or better […]

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Adopt a Pocket of the Neighborhood Forest

Gavin and Liam weeding out invasive plants from water-harvesting, traffic-calming chicane before planting desired native plants and sowing wildflower seeds

Gavin Troy and his son Liam were tired of seeing bare spots, weeds overtake native plantings, litter pile up, and tree limbs blocking public pathways in the public right-of-way adjoining […]

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Using free online PAG mapping tool to see tree canopy, water flow, and more in your neighborhood

This image shows my neighborhood Dunbar/Spring in the center, the red dot signifies my property at the NW corner of 9th Ave and University Blvd. Speedway Blvd is near the top of the image, I-10 highway to the left. The varying degrees of green signify different percentages of tree cover by block (data is from the year 2008, so we need new data to see how we are doing presently-and see if we are improving or getting worse compared to past data). In 2008 tree cover on my block was 22%. Better than some, but we could do a lot better (thus we keep planting more stormwater, trees, and understory plants). Blue signifies waterways, drainages.

My community of Tucson, Arizona just experienced the hottest August on record. Tucson is also the third fastest warming city in the U.S.. Such warming is happening around the world […]