Programs
Program Schedule for 2026
Carr House Visitor Information Center
1011 East Carr Canyon Road
All are invited to attend our summer program of presentations on the natural and cultural history of the Huachuca Mountains and environs. These presentations are offered free of charge at the Carr House. The topics are wide-ranging as illustrated below
Maximum occupancy of Carr House is 49 persons
Saturday, April 11, 8:00 am; Bird Walk at Carr House. Join a bird walk led by Cochise College professor Dr. Steve Merkley. The canyons of the Huachuca Mountains offer a different birding experience than you’ll find in the San Pedro River Valley. You might see or hear high altitude birds such as Buff-breasted flycatchers, Red-faced and Grace’s warblers, Yellow-eyed Juncos, Pygmy Nuthatches, Steller’s Jays, and more. Be sure to bring your binoculars!
Saturday, April 11, 9:00 am; Kids Day, Let’s learn about what different birds eat and why they choose those foods. To finish we will be making pinecone bird feeders. Kids Day participants must be accompanied by a parent.
Sunday, May 3, 1:30 pm, Report from FOHM scholarship winners. Presenters Daniel Torres, Caleb Whitney, and Alex Aguilera will present their research on topics from their Cochise College Biology 192 course.
Saturday, May 16, 1:30 pm; Beavers on the San Pedro; This is a joint program between Friends of Huachuca Mountains and Friends of the San Pedro River. Meet at the large auditorium at the Sierra Vista library to hear fascinating research on the local beaver population presented by Dr. Steve Merkley and Frank Emanuele. Note that this program is at the Sierra Vista library, not Carr House!
Sunday, May 17, 1:30 pm, Borderlands Restoration Native Seeds. Presenter Francesca Claverie. The native seeds from Borderlands are collected from wildlands abiding by stringent national standards for ethical collection, promoting minimal impact harvesting and genetically diverse seed lots. Before the event you can order from borderlandsplants.org online and your purchase will be delivered to the Carr House the day of the program. There is a place to write notes in the order and your need to just write “Carr House 5/17” and they will deliver anything ordered, plant, seed, shirt, or book.
Saturday, May 23, 9:00 am; Kids Day. Many thousands of years ago strange animals roamed the earth. Let’s talk about those animals and how we know they were here. Then we will make fossils! Kids Day participants must be accompanied by a parent.
Sunday, June 7, 1:30 pm, Southeast Arizona Bird Observatory. Presenter: Tom Wood. Tom will present a history of the SABO and the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary-a local gem featuring many birds and other animals.
Saturday, June 20, 9:00 am; Kids Day. Let’s talk about the animals that visit Carr House today. Which ones have you seen? We’ll be making a track box to record who visits. Kids Day participants must be accompanied by a parent.
Sunday, June 21, 1:30 pm Herps, Snakes, Lizards and More. Presenter: Tom Miscione, Herpetologist. Tom will help us learn not to fear these important members of the local eco-system. His many live specimens will let you get up close and personal with a diverse number of snakes and lizards.
Sunday, July 5, 1:30 pm; Bats! Presenter: Jeff Babson. Did you know that Arizona is home to 29 bat species, the second highest of any state? This presentation explores the diversity of Arizona bats and the remarkable adaptations that enable them to dominate the night skies.
Sunday, July 19, 1:30 pm. 100 Western Women. Presenter: Jan Cleere. For more than ten years, Jan Cleere has written about the women who influenced the growth and development of Arizona in her column “Western Women” that appears monthly in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper. She has compiled these columns into her latest book, 100 Western Women: the Bold, Brave, Gutsy Women of Arizona’s Past.
Saturday, July 25, 9:00 am; Kids Day. Did you know that all the water we have on earth is the same amount we have always had? It just keeps changing forms. We’ll learn more about how that happens and do an art project about the water cycle. Kids Day participants must be accompanied by a parent.
Sunday, August 2, 1:30 pm; Apaches in the US military. Presenter: Bernd Brandt. Apache Scouts were elite Native American trackers recruited by the US army, primarily between 1866 and 1886 to fight resisting Apache bands in the Southwest.
Sunday, August 16, 1:30 pm; Northern Jaguar Project. Presenter: Cholla Rose Duir. Learn how the NJP protects the northernmost breeding population of jaguars in Mexico and in Arizona, their native range of distribution, now and in the future.
Saturday, August 22, 2026, 9:00 am; Kids Day, Leaves come in a variety of colors and shapes Let’s see if we can use the shapes to create leaf creatures. If you have interesting leaves in your yard, please bring them. Kids Day participants must be accompanied by a parent.
Sunday, September 6, 1:30 pm; Fungi of the Huachucas. Presenter: Mike Dechter. Mike is Executive Director of the Arizona Mushroom Society and has led over 100 wild mushroom forays throughout Arizona. In this presentation, Mike will take us on a virtual exploration of the cryptic kingdom of the often novel and striking fungi found in the shady canyons, oak slopes, and forested mountain heights of the Huachucas.
Sunday, September 20, 1:30 pm; Borderlandia, Ethnobotany in the Sonoran Desert. Presenter: Alex La Pierre. For thousands of years the Indigenous peoples of the Sonoran Desert-such as the Tohono O’odham, Akimel and Seri- have relied on the land’s plants for food, medicine, tools, and ceremonies. Learn how desert plants have shaped daily life, survival, and cultural traditions.
Saturday, September 26, 2026, 9:00am; Kids Day. Did you know you can make a picture without a camera? Join us to make prints using just the sunlight. Kids Day participants must be accompanied by a parent.
Sunday, October 4, 1:30 pm; Saguaros. Presenter: Peter Breslin, Desert Lab at Tumamoc Hill. “Everybody loves Saguaros!” Many observers have noted some changes in saguaro growth, well-being and flowering of our beloved cactus icon the Sonoran Desert. This program will present research being done on Tumamoc Hill in Tucson that is investigating how saguaros are responding to long-term drought, warming temperatures, and other changes.
Sunday, October 18, 1:30 pm; Sky Island Alliance. Presenter: Bryan Lichtenhan. Sky Island Alliance’s mission is to protect and restore the diversity of life and lands in the Sky Island region They use science, conservation, education and advocacy to connect the binational landscapes, people, and wildlife of the Sky Islands for the benefit of all.
Saturday, October 24, 2026, 9:00am; Kids Day. Let’s talk about nature and why it’s important to protect it. Then we’ll be making ecology posters. Kids Day participants must be accompanied by a parent.
Sunday, November 1, 1:30 pm; Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). Presenter: Mike Foster. Mike Foster, videographer and Carr House Host, will show how the Aztec/Catholic holiday is celebrated in cemeteries just across the international border and more extended places in Mexico.
Sunday, November 15, 1:30 pm; Health of the Forest. Presenter: Beau Cartwright, USFS. Discussion of the current health of the Carr Canyon forest and that of other canyons after multiple years of drought.