In partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, Parks in Focus takes 12 middle-school students every summer in
early June to explore Arizona's national parks, monuments, forests, and wilderness areas with trained environmental
educators, park rangers, and naturalists. Following the trip, participants learn the basics of web design and create
their own web pages with photographs and excerpts from trip journals. Parks in Focus Arizona has been partially funded
with generous support from the Bert W. Martin Foundation since 2004.
Cactus in bloom (Jose, 2007 participant)
Using Sedona or Pinetop as a base, Parks in Focus participants have explored many of Arizona's natural wonders, such as
the White Mountains, Canyon de Chelly, the Grand Canyon, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Red Rock State Park, Tuzigoot
National Monument, Sunset Crater Volcano and Walnut Canyon National Monuments, the Petrified Forest, Doe Mountain, Slide
Rock State Park, and many more. Through hikes deep into the Grand Canyon, slips and slides at Slide Rock, and wading
through Oak Creek to find photo opportunities off the beaten path, participants discover, identify, and interact with
nature. At the end of each five-day excursion, participants know what it feels like to be actively involved in the world
around them.
Hiking into the Grand Canyon
In 2007, a pre-trip outing to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park introduced the PIF Arizona
participants to their new Canon Powershot Digital Elph (6.0 megapixel) cameras and taught them about the plants and animals
of the desert Southwest. Using digital technology enabled participants to view their photos in "real time" and receive
immediate feedback.
Sunset Crater National Monument (Alfonso, 2007 participant)
Hundreds of photographs capturing brilliant red rock, the sun skimming the surface of the creek, and the never-ending sky.
Twelve pairs of soggy shoes and socks from the many "slips" and then "oh wells" into the creek. Twenty trees identified,
twelve birds recognized by their call alone, and five animals viewed up-close (one by surprise and a little too close).
Twelve minds opened to the adventure and wonder, and thus the importance of conservation, of parks.
View participants' web pages