Forests of tall saguaro cacti. Gila monsters and rattlesnakes. Javelinas. Both Sonoran desert and mixed conifer forest that climbs to more than 8,500 feet. That's a quick glimpse of what you'll find within Saguaro National Park in far south Arizona. And those are just some aspects of the park that Friends of Saguaro works to protect.

This past year the friends group has worked not only on those natural resource issues tied to Saguaro, but also worked with the National Park Service to nurture the next generation of park stewards. 

Friends of Saguaro joined with the Park Service to establish the Next Generation Ranger Corps program, and raised funding to support 17 "Next Gen Ranger" positions. Engaging youth in national parks is vital to cultivating tomorrow’s park advocates and stewards. Among the programs Friends of Saguaro uses are curriculum-focused park field trips that engage youth of all ages in activities that allow them to explore and discover the significance of the park's resources. Along the way, they’re introduced to the National Park System and its conservation mission.

We also utilize park ranger visits to classrooms to augment in-class teaching with a variety of age-specific programs; youth hiking clubs that involve students in regular after-school activities, and monthly hikes at the park -- empowering youth with outdoor recreation experiences that build skills and confidence, and; schoolyard BioBlitzes that enable middle school students to utilize GIS database platforms and apply skills and knowledge gained in the classroom to explore differences in biodiversity between their own schoolyard and the park.

You can keep on top of how Friends of Saguaro is working to help Saguaro National Park, and learn how you can help the friends group, by checking in regularly on its dedicated page on the Traveler. It can be reached by clicking your cursor on "Friends of the Parks" on Traveler's menu bar, and clicking on Friends of Saguaro on the drop-down menu.