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By Katie Weeks
Director of Community Building, Audubon Southwest
Published May 08, 2026
This article is from Audubon Southwest
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Every day, Audubon Southwest staff is working hard to bring people outside to inspire conservation action through volunteer and education opportunities. For us, every day is earth day!
In April, beautiful weather, migratory birds, sprouting plants, and Earth Day festivities kept our team busy in the best way possible. Audubon Southwest education team interacted with more than 2,650 people in the month of April alone! Our team was busy delivering hands-on activities at Earth Day festivals, leading bird walks, guiding student field trips at the Rio Salado Audubon Center and Randall Davey Audubon Centers, visiting classrooms, afterschool programs, and more! These are the seasons that keep us smiling and hopeful, as members of our communities tell us about their favorite bird or a new plant that started growing in their yard. These stories and experiences give us hope as we see people of all ages pitching in and showing up for our planet and the birds that rely on it.
Planting Seeds for the Future at Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge in Albuquerque
We were excited to spend Earth Day at Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge with 16 volunteers who came out to plant 86 plants in three basins near the Refuge entrance. Cathy Wise, Senior Manager for Community Building shared, “Volunteers included families and young ones who enjoyed making seed balls. In addition to this work, we were able to give away thirty ‘Grow Your Own Sunflowers’ bags so folks can promote their own backyard habitat throughout the summer. These pockets of urban bird habitat are essential for migratory birds passing through and stopping along the Rio Grande.”
We are grateful for the partnership with Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge, Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District, and more! This was part of a year-long project supported by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and their Urban Bird Conservation Program.
Inspiring the Next Generation at the Randall Davey Audubon Center in Santa Fe
Senior Education Coordinator, Meghan Baker, spent her Earth Day leading a group of preschoolers and their families on a hike through the Randall Davey Audubon Center. “One of my favorite parts of these programs is getting to see their little eyes get wide and excited when they notice a bird or spot a butterfly,” says Meghan. “Introducing young kids to nature, helping them get comfortable, and explore our ecosystems is so important!”
More than 400 students visited the Randall Davey Audubon Center in April, from preschoolers all the way to high school! Most of these students were able to visit for free, thanks to the Outdoor Equity Fund from the State of New Mexico’s Outdoor Recreation Division. These grant-funded scholarships ensure that Title 1 schools are able to access hands-on outdoor science field trips, removing the prohibitive financial barrier many schools and families face when accessing the outdoors.
Outdoor science adventures ranged from learning about pollinators, migratory birds, and exploring the forest ecosystems around the Center. At the end of every field trip, students learn about ways they can be conservation champions back at their school or neighborhood.
In addition to our field trips, we were excited to wrap up our year-long partnership with Santa Fe Prep. Middle and high school students visited the center throughout the year to complete service projects such as repairing our outdoor classroom spaces, raking the lawn and Nature Discovery Area, and more.
Reaching Students Across Northern New Mexico
“Giving young people the opportunity to learn about and explore the place where they live can be one of the most impactful parts of growing up,” shares Kanah Waltman, Community Outreach Coordinator. “Whether it’s learning about new careers or getting exposed to different parts of their world that they may not even know exist, even when it’s just down the road from their house!”
In addition to on-site programs and field trips, Audubon Southwest was all over Northern New Mexico in April! Our outreach efforts, led by Kanah, included visiting schools and events in Española, Las Vegas, Gallina, and all-around Santa Fe. In all, more than 1,000 folks across Northern New Mexico engaged with Audubon Southwest conservation message in April. This community outreach is essential in a large rural state where it may be difficult to get all the way up to the Randall Davey Audubon Center.
“One of my favorite parts of my job is just meeting different people around the community and especially talking with young people about how they can make a difference and create a future that they want to see,” says Waltman. “During my visit to Carlos Vigil Middle School, we talked about freshwater conservation, and it really hit home to some students that we are talking about a finite resource. There’s not that much of it to go around, and if we want to have a future where the Rio Grande still runs through their community, we all need to be working together to conserve that water.”
Community Building in Phoenix
“We had a great month of meeting and teaching people all around Phoenix,” shared Juliana Gomez, Senior Education Coordinator at the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center. “It was a busy few weeks, but everyone is just so excited to be talking to us, learning about birds, and wanting to get involved with programs or other projects!”
Spring has been busy in Phoenix! Between field trips, community outreach, new program offerings, service groups, and Center events, the Rio Salado team has been getting into a groove of community engagement. Since the start of 2026, Juliana has hosted 13 different groups on field trips and several offsite school programs. Additionally, she’s attended many outreach events including at the Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, Desert Botanical Garden, and Odysea Aquarium. Juliana has also been piloting two new programs at the Rio Salado Audubon Center: a Thursday Guided Nature Walk aimed at providing a slower pace and more observation and reflection, a Saturday family hike program called Nature Explorers.
On Earth Day itself, Juliana spent her morning at the Phoenix Children’s Museum celebrating with young learners and inspiring many curious questions about bird adaptations! That evening, we were excited to host our first collaborative teacher training with Arizona Project WET, introducing participants to the wonders of wetlands and how that touches down as real-world conservation at the Rio Salado Audubon Center.
Restoring Habitat and Engaging Volunteers at the Rio Salado Audubon Center in Phoenix
In addition to festivals and programs, the Rio Salado Audubon Center saw hundreds of community members show up for volunteer days throughout the month of April. Together, the volunteers and community partners were able to remove hundreds of bags of invasive weeds as well as install many new native plants. These efforts are key components as Audubon works to restore the native habitat around Rio Salado.
Volunteers also helped install new signage, clean up trails, and more Center improvement projects. We cannot express enough our gratitude to everyone who came out and donated their time and efforts, including but not limited to Wells Fargo, Microsoft, AZSA, Tiger Mountain Foundation, Sundt (pictured here), and more.
However you celebrated Earth Month this year, we thank you for your contributions, efforts, and enthusiasm! We are still smiling from the excitement we encountered across our communities, whether for birds, habitat, or just the joy of nature. Interested in getting involved in any of these projects or programs? Learn more here about volunteer opportunities and educational programs in your local community.