Grasses may often go unnoticed, but they play a crucial role in our ecosystems and daily lives. They are essential for feeding livestock, stabilizing soil, and thriving in some of the harshest environments on Earth. In Arizona, grasses have developed remarkable strategies to survive extreme heat, limited water, and varied landscapes, flourishing where few other plants can. Join Debbie DeWolf Allen for a presentation that highlights the uniqueness of Arizona grasses and explains why they deserve a closer look.

*The event is free, but space is limited and registration is required to attend. The talk will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel for those unable to attend in person.

Debbie DeWolf Allen has always loved nature. She majored in geology at Indiana University, got her master’s degree, and fell in love with the wide-open spaces of the West at a geology field camp in Montana. She has been certified as a Master Gardener in Harris County, Texas, and Yavapai County, Arizona. Over a dozen years ago, she noticed some interesting grasses and decided to learn how to identify them with the blissfully naive “How hard can it be?” Over the last decade, she has been working to make grasses easier for beginners to recognize, ultimately resulting in her book, “Common Grasses of the Central Arizona Highlands,” available at the Natural History Institute.