2024 -Trees for Tucson Propagation Education
In Summer 2024, undergraduate student Cassandra Beimfohr was a full-time student attending the University of Arizona working toward completion of a Bachelors of Science degree in Sustainable Plant Systems with an Urban Horticulture emphasis. For internship credit, she gained practical experience working with Trees for Tucson. These experiences informed her of their need for documentation and guidance relating to propagation of the native trees they produce and a service-learning component was added to her work. In this project, she worked with the UA School of Plant Sciences faculty member Tanya Quist to research and document propagation protocols for many of the tree species used by Trees for Tucson. The resulting product is a handbook to be used in training all future propagators and volunteers with the program. She complimented this handbook with a brochure that can be circulated widely to encourage and empower individuals to propagate and plant their own trees.
Tucson Clean & Beautiful (TCB) is a non-profit environmental advocacy and action organization founded in 1985 to preserve and improve our environment, conserve natural resources, and enhance quality of life in the City of Tucson and eastern Pima County. These goals are achieved through educational and hands-on programs emphasizing personal action in recycling and waste reduction, land stewardship, urban forestry and beautification.
Originally established to keep our community litter-free, TCB has grown to coordinate programs and projects with a diversity of partners including government agencies, community groups, businesses, and the support of thousands of volunteers. Programs are supported by grants, businesses, personal donations, and in-kind donations of materials and services. About Planting the future, growing communities.
Cassandra Beimfohr, B. S. Sustainable Plant Systems, Urban Horticulture Emphasis. Class of 2025.
Cassandra's service-learning project with Tucson Clean and Beautiful provided valuable knowledge, training, and connections in the urban forestry arena. The work also affirmed her passion for native plants, trees, and underscored her particular interest in Sonoran native pollinators.
See the completed Propagation Handbook Cassandra created here:
