Tumamoc Talks

The Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill hosts a series of talks focused on topics that relate to the science, ecology, history, and culture of the Sonoran Desert. All talks are open to the public.

Wednesday, February 4th at 5:30pm

Reconciliation by Design: Planning the Santa Cruz River Urban Wildlife Refuge with Mackenzie Waller

This presentation looks at the proposed Santa Cruz River Urban Wildlife Refuge as an opportunity for reconciliation in public landscape architecture design and planning; that is, as an expanded view on restoration. Once uniting communities (humans, and otherwise), the Santa Cruz River was depleted and transformed by extraction and neglect. Community leaders are shifting this narrative. Guided by the many perspectives in community and ecology, this effort promotes strategies that are locally relevant for the resilient stewardship of our local web of life. 

Mackenzie Waller is a landscape architect, urban designer and assistant professor at the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona. Her work centers on environmental and spatial justice in the urban built environment. Her current research interests explore how the mediums of story, wildlife and play can serve as strategies to co-create desired futures. 

Location: The Tumamoc Hill Boathouse (base of the Hill)