Special Events -- Most Are Included With Daily
Adult Admission of $7.50, or $3 for ages 5-12

Dragonfly Walks Saturday and Sunday, July 5 and 6
July 5 and also July 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., then again August 2 and September 6
We have a special weekend of back-to-back dragonfly walks on July 5 and 6. Arboretum education coordinator Chris Kline leads our Saturday walk at 9:30 a.m. and then photographer Pete Moulton leads the Sunday morning tour. Queen Creek and Ayer Lake are great places to view Red Rock Skimmers, Blue-eyed Darners and various other species of these insect predators during a one-hour walk. Please note our "Sunday Special" extra season dragonfly walk on July 6. Plan for a warm morning: wear sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat! And bring binoculars along for vivid close-up views of these insect predators.

Open After Hours -- music with Mountain Rain Saturday, July 5
 Extended hours and live music offered July 5 (all other days are 6:00 am to 3:00 pm)
 Plan to have a barbecue in our picnic area, invite friends and enjoy live music on reduced-admission evenings once each month continuing Saturday, July 5. Admission is $5-per-person for these afternoon/evening events after 3:00 p.m. -- a few select Saturdays this summer when the Arboretum will remain open from 3:00 until 8:00 so families can walk the trails in the late afternoon, use our picnic tables and charcoal grilles - and hear some of the Valley's talented musicians. Timed with the beginning of Arizona's monsoon season we have the "Mountain Rain" trio -- Gary Kaplowitz, Ethan and Patty Rutkoff -- scheduled for July 5 with music from 5:30 - 7:30. Alesa and Patty (with William Dreier joining in for few songs) will play from 5:30 - 6:30, and then Gary, Ethan and Patty will perform as "Mountain Rain" from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. For details please call Arboretum staff during daytime business hours from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm at 520-689-2723

"Sunday Special" Nature Tours
July 6, August 3 and September 7 at 9:30 a.m.
Our once-a-month "Sunday Special" 9:30 a.m nature tours this summer continue with a Dragonfly Walk July 6, Butterfly Walk August 3, and a final "Learn Your Lizards" Walk on September 7. View photos and read recent dragonfly checklist reports

Gallery Exhibit: Arboretum Members Photography
 Daily Through July 10 in our Visitor Center Gallery
 Photographs by Boyce Thompson Arboretum annual members are in our visitor center art gallery throughout this month, continuing through July 10. The next exhibit featured in the art gallers will begin July 12 and will feature student works by Gila Community College fine arts and graphic arts students; this show will continue through August 31.

Birding 103 on Saturday, July 12
July 12 from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., then Part II is November 22 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
In the final installment of Kathe Anderson's advanced birding class series, the Es and Fs of basic birding are the focus. Anderson will emphasize seeking out different habitats and environments when looking for particular birds. In addition, come prepared to learn how to distinguish different bird families. Two-part class begins July 12 from 7:00 – 10:00 a.m. - and continues Nov. 22 from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. Enrollment is $25 for annual members, $32.50 non-members. Call
Arboretum gift store staff daytimes at 520-689-2723

Learn Your Lizards Guided Walk July 12
July 12 at 8:30 and again August 9, September 7 (at 9:30) and the season finale September 13
 Kids enjoy this popular tour -- bring your kids, grandkids, nephews or nieces to learn about common Sonoran desert reptiles on July 12 at 8:30 a.m. Desert Spiny lizards here at the Arboretum sometimes can grow as big as bratwursts! This entertaining guided tour shows participants how to identify common lizard species such as Western whiptail, Side-blotched and Greater Earless. Walks are offered on the second-Saturday-of-the-month, with Tom Brennan and Phil Rosen as our special guest tour guides on July 12. Then on August 9 our guest tour guide is Casa Grande ecologist and reptile enthusiast "Wild Man Phil" Rakoci. We also have one "Sunday Special" lizard walk at 9:30 a.m. on September 7. Wear sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat -- and bring along binoculars for the best close-up views of these engaging little reptiles.

6:30 A.M. Summer Bird Walk Sunday, July 13
July 13 and August 10 at 6:30 a.m.
Learn to identify native Sonoran desert birds, and exotic migrants as well, on a two-hour bird walk. ASU Prof. Dave Pearson will be our guest bird walk leader on July 13. Admission of $7.50 for adults, $3 ages 5-12 includes guided bird walks. Read recent birder checklist reports

Plants-of-the-Bible Guided Tour
 July 19 (Saturday) at 7:30 a.m.                 ** please note Summer start time for this tour: 7:30 a.m.
 Learn about botany, history and Scripture on this relaxing, slow-paced walk through the gardens alongside Arboretum volunteer Bible scholars. The tour follows paths that are accessible to wheelchairs and walkers; proceeding through collections including the picnic area, Demonstration and Herb Gardens. The
tour will be offered once-a-month at 7:30 a.m. on July 19 and August 16 when Summer hours are from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily. See photos and read more

Butterfly Walk
July 26, Saturday, from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. -- and again August 3 and also August 23; September 27, October 25
Learn to identify common species of butterflies -- and about the colorful insects' life cycles -- on a two-hour walk through the Demonstration and
Hummingbird-Butterfly Gardens. Learn about our monarch butterfly migration research, and see colorful photo as well! Please note the "Sunday Special" bonus butterfly walk we'll have August 3 at 9:30 a.m.Read recent butterfly checklist reports

Edible and Medicinal Desert Plants Guided Walk
 July 27 (Sunday) at 9:30 a.m., and then again August 24
 Join us for a guided tour where you will learn ways that native desert plants have fed, clothed and healed indigenous peoples for millennia. Tours are guided by ethnobotanist and Choctaw tribal nation member David Morris. During Summer months the tour start time moves to 9:30 a.m. Please note that this tour explores our Curandero Trail, which has moderately steep sections and is not accessible by wheelchair. Read more about jojoba, creosote and prickly pears

Monarch Butterfly Field Trips
August 12-16, August 30, September 6, September 14, October 2-4, October 15-17.
Education Coordinator Chris Kline invites volunteers to help search for monarch butterflies – then capture, tag & release adults – during offsite research trips. We’ll drive to Jacob’s Lake Aug. 12-15 and Springerville Aug. 16; trips to the Canelo hills are Aug. 30 and again Sept. 14, and then Hereford on Sept. 6. A trip to the Blue River is Oct. 2-4, and to the Hualapai Mountains Oct. 15-17. To learn more about these research field trips, call Chris Kline at 520-689-2723 or email ckline@Ag.arizona.edu. Read more about our monarch butterfly migration research

Opuntia Punch (or “How-To-Juice-A-Prickly-Pear”) classes
August 17 at 10:30 a.m. and again August 23 and September 1 (Labor Day)
Have you ever sipped a prickly pear fruit margarita or nibbled candy made from cactus fruit? If so, you know that nothing compares to the subtle flavor and outrageous magenta color of juice from the prickly pear cactus that can be harvested throughout Arizona. This informal hour-long class is offered toward the end of summer when prickly pear fruit ripen. Come learn how to harvest opuntia cactus fruits and extract the juice without turning your hands into a “porcupine” of painful glochids and cactus spines. Apache Junction author Jean Groen (“Foods of the Superstitions”) is the harvest season guest for each of these three class dates.

“Bye-Bye Buzzards”
 September 27 (Saturday) from 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
 One of the Arboretum’s signature events is our seasonal salute to the migrant flock of Turkey Vultures before these huge black birds fly south to spend their winter months in Mexico. Celebrate ornithology and learn about Turkey Vultures, misunderstood scavengers which play an integral role in our Sonoran desert ecosystem. Join our staff and volunteers observing the resident flock from 7-8:30 a.m. Visitors are invited to join our 8:30 a.m. guided birdwalk to learn about other species. Desert Rivers Audubon will be here; Arizona Game & Fish Department wildlife rehab volunteers will bring their popular exhibit of live birds, reptiles and small mammals 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Fall Plant Sale
 October 10 - 26, daily, from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
 Autumn is harvest season; also the time to plant herbs and the right season to prepare your Spring flower garden. Stock up during this annual fundraiser which helps support botany education and conservation at Arizona's oldest and largest botanical garden. Staff horticulturists and groundskeepers are available daily to answer your plant questions.

Plein Air "Paint-Out"
November 28 - 29, daily, from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
 Artists are invited to capture autumnal scenes during our annual Thanksgiving weekend Fall Foliage Finale Festival. Bring your dropcloth, brushes and easel. Glorious Autumn foliage is at peak around Thanksgiving at Boyce Thompson Arboretum; capture garden scenes on canvas alongside members of the Mesa Art League and Arizona Plein Air Painters.

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