When I think about my days many years ago at Tully Elementary School on the Westside of Tucson certain memories come front and center. Scrambling over the playground with classmates to see who could score one of the prized golf balls sent flying over the fence into the school grounds from a golfer playing at the El Rio Course, walking to the panadería off Grande Ave. for a fresh tortilla and Tamarind or Limon Mexican candies, and overnight field trips to Camp Cooper.

The Cooper Center for Environmental Learning (aka Camp Cooper) provided our young 4th and 5th grade minds with supervised non-traditional learning experiences which ranged from navigating desert terrain in the Tucson Mountains using compasses to hands on encounters with critters like packrats and owls. The trips provided an introduction to the ecosystems that function within the Sonoran Desert and contributed to why I am a strong advocate for protecting the environment as an adult. 

On April 21, 2018 Camp Cooper is hosting an Alumni Reunion and Open House from 5pm-9pm where you can tour the facility and experience the magic that it provides to hundreds of students annually. The address is 5403 W Trails End Rd. Tucson, AZ 85745. For more information visit the event’s Facebook Page here or their website at www.coopercenter.arizona.edu.

If you are a Camp Cooper fan please consider contributing to their crowdfund campaign like I did. Their goal is to raise $10,000 before the April 21st event. Click here to support this amazing program.

#tucson #UofA #CampCooper #alumni #philanthropy #sustainability