Thursday, March 27, 2025, Westward Look Inn, Tucson AZ
Join us on a delightful tour of Mission Gardens and the multi-generation fruit harvesting site associated with the Saguaro National Park, accompanied by Tanisha Tucker, a third-generation caretaker of the Saguaro site. She will discuss plant lore, food harvesting, and other practices from the Tohono O’odham Nation perspective.
At an early age, Tanisha was taught the tradition of the baidaj, or annual saguaro fruit harvest by her mother, Stella Tucker. Guided by the teachings of her mother, Tanisha is working to preserve traditional harvesting practices and restore native food ways. She is developing recipes with native foods, discussing their history, and hosting community tastings and classes in partnership with Tohono O’Odham Young Voices podcast.
Mission Garden, at the base of Sentinel peak, is a living agricultural museum of Sonoran Desert-adapted heritage fruit trees, traditional local heirloom crops and edible native plants. This site is Tucson’s birthplace, sacred to the Tohono O’odham, where archaeologists have documented 4,100 years of continuous cultivation. The Garden contains over a dozen distinct multi-cultural, ethno-agricultural heritage plots, each representing one of the many ethnic groups that farmed the Tucson Basin over the last four millennia. E. Director Alyce Sadongei, Megan Lopez, and other staff will share Indigenous practices (planting and harvesting by the traditional calendar) and early colonial gardens.
Then we travel to Saguaro National Park and the Food Harvest Hill site where Tanisha will discuss how saguaro, buckthorn, prickly pear, and other fruits have been processed for generations. The Tucson District on the West side of Saguaro National Park is famous for its dense saguaro forests, beautiful sunsets, and the shorter scenic loop drive (Bajada Loop). We will end our field trip at the Saguaro National Park visitor center (West side) before traveling back to the Westward Look Resort.
Cost $90: includes box lunch, bus, and entrance and guide fees. Tips are optional.
We planned this excursion to be easy walking on paved and some unpaved paths. We will be walking short distances that can accommodate canes and walking sticks if necessary.
Please bring: March in Tucson ought to be sunny and pleasant. Still, weather can be fickle so please be sure to pack a hat, long sleeves, water, and sunblock.
Itinerary
- 11:30 AM—meet at registration and put together your box lunch
- 12:00—board the bus (with food harvester Tanisha Tucker)
- 12:15 PM—Leave Westward Look Resort
- 12:45-1 PM—Arrive at Mission Gardens—After a 10-to-15-minute overview, we will divide into small groups to look at several garden areas. Or, if there’s time, you can explore the gardens on your own.
- 2:30 PM—Leave Mission Gardens for the fruit picking site at Saguaro National Park. At the fruit processing site Tanisha Tucker and colleagues will explain some of the processing aspects. After about a half hour at the processing site, we will go to the Red Hills Visitor Center in Saguaro National Park West.
- 4:45 PM—Head back to the Westward Look Resort
- 5:30 PM—Arrive at the Westward Look Resort
Read all about the Conference here.