Green Attractions

Tucson's lush, green deserts are an amazing setting for world-class attractions. These companies are leading the Old Pueblo's "green" fight to conserve and protect Southern Arizona's resources, all while providing earth-friendly travelers with fun and inspiring experiences.

Tohono Chul Park is a 49-acre desert preserve and a leading Southwest center of desert nature, arts and culture. Listed by National Geographic Traveler as one of the top 22 Secret Gardens in the United States and Canada, Tohono Chul is also a leader in sustainable practices. The park's restaurant - The Tea Room - purchases 3 percent of its food locally, including free-range, grass-fed beef from Winkelman, Ariz.; bacon from Willcox, Ariz.; spices from Tubac's Santa Cruz Chile Company; and prickly pear products from Cheri's Desert Harvest in Tucson. The Park also grows its own produce on-site - herbs, tepary beans and more - in its Ethnobotanical Garden. Tohono Chul also participates in food donation programs for the Food Bank, Casa del los Niños, and Gospel Rescue Mission. In addition to using solar power to heat the water in one of its public restrooms; the Park practices and teaches recycling, rain water harvesting, xeriscape design and installation, and solar panel installation and maintenance. 

Tucson's Reid Park Zoo is setting Southern Arizona's  "green" standard with the opening of its LEED Platinum-certified Conservation Learning Center. The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum designation is a rarity, and the Conservation Learning Center will be the first building in Southern Arizona to earn the title (and just the second in Arizona). The zoo's new 10,000-square-foot Learning Center uses 80 percent less energy than the average building, and includes: Shade-rich design and orientation; recycled steel beams; polystyrene and poured concrete walls; solar panels; rammed earth construction; scrap cotton and blue-jeans insulation; clay-based, low-fume and non-toxic paints; rooftop rainwater harvesting; gray water irrigation from sink water; waterless urinals; pervious concrete (porous design allows stormwater to flow through and recharge groundwater supplies); FieldTurf artificial grass; Herman Miller sustainable furniture; bamboo cabinetry and corn-based fabrics; eco-friendly carpet; and recycled glass countertops.

In the heart of downtown Tucson, the Mercado San Agustin - an open-air marketplace that focuses on promoting local small businesses - plans to open in early 2010. The Mercado will include 100 percent solar-powered exterior lighting, plus roof-mounted photovoltaic systems to reduce dependence on electricity. The Mercado will water plants and trees with an innovative rainwater harvesting system, which will collect water in 5,000-gallon underground storage systems powered by solar pumps. Landscaping will include low-water native plants, which will be maintained using a passive subsurface watering system that will reduce irrigation needs by as much as 80 percent.

Tucked away in the heart of Tucson, the Tucson Botanical Gardens is a 5-acre oasis of natural beauty, inspiration and education about the natural desert. The Botanical Gardens feature 16 gardens with diverse themes - such as the Herb Garden, the Xeriscape Harden and the Butterfly Garden - on the historic 1920s property of Tucson's Porter Family. The Botanical Gardens also participates in a host of eco-friendly activities. In addition to using efficient CFL lightbulbs and low-flow toilets and urinals; recycling and using solar power for 5 percent of its operations, the Gardens also practices and teaches the public about xeriscaping, rainwater harvesting and recycling, and gray water usage. The Gardens' SAHBA Pavilion - a large, open-air ramada - was recently outfitted with 20 solar panels on its rooftop, to help reduce its carbon footprint. TBG has also partnered with local eatery Café 54, which serves up a variety of organic produce on biodegradable dishes and utensils. 

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, all in one place. Exhibits boasting more than 300 animal species and 1,200 species of plants re-create the natural landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region so realistically, visitors will find themselves eye-to-eye with mountain lions, prairie dogs, Gila monsters and more. ASDM is also a leader in "green" conservation practices, which include rooftop rainwater harvesting; low-flow faucets, toilets and urinals; on-site self-contained wastewater treatment using natural pond filtering; gray water use; drip watering systems and water-saving xeriscaping; and fluorescent lighting. The parking lots at ASDM are engineered to direct rainwater toward plantings, and all parking lot lights are solar-powered. Four of the museum's largest buildings have living roofs, and public programs offered at ASDM help educate the public on water conservation and sustainable foods. The museum is pesticide- and herbicide-free, and only "green" cleaning products are used.