These are facilities affiliated with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences which either provide services for the public or provide tours. Restrictions on tours are noted in the description.
- Extension Garden Center in Tucson
- University of Arizona Herbarium on campus
- Arizona Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Tucson but serves state
- Environmental Research Lab near Tucson Airport
- Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior
- V Bar V Ranch in northern Arizona
- Maricopa Agricultural Center northwest of Casa Grande and south of Phoenix
- Landscape Interpretive Trail and Demonstration Gardens in Phoenix
- International visitors to the College
Extension Garden Center
Pima County Cooperative Extension Office
4210 North Campbell Avenue
Tucson, Arizona 85719-1109
Phone: (520) 626-5161
Initial contact: Francine Correll
The Garden Center is part of the Pima County Office and is used for weekly demonstrations (listed in the Extension calendar). Various areas of the garden include beds illustrating using color in home landscaping, herbs, vegetables, a rose garden, and a new area on cacti and succulents. Demonstrations are held each week on Wednesday, from 9-10 (except in June, July, August and December); no reservations are necessary.
The public may also come to see the garden during office hours of 8 am to 5 pm, or from 8:30-11:30 am on Thursdays, when volunteers are there to help answer questions.
University of Arizona Herbarium
113 Shantz Building
University of Arizona Campus
Tucson, Arizona 85721
Phone: (520) 621-7243, Fax: (520) 621-7186
Contact:
Philip Jenkins pjenkins@u.arizona.edu
Website: cals.arizona.edu/herbarium
A herbarium is a museum for plants. Plant specimens are collected, shelved in an organized fashion (not unlike a library), and preserved for future study. The University of Arizona Herbarium was established in 1891, and has continued to grow in volume and services ever since. Now, with more than 400,000 collections of pressed plants, seeds, cones, fungi, lichens and mosses, it is the largest herbarium in Arizona, and the largest between Austin, Texas and Southern California. It is the largest collection of Arizona and Sonora plants in the world. We serve the general public, public agencies and private companies as well as the faculty, staff and students from the University of Arizona and visiting researchers from other institutions. We provide services of identification and information on all plants; native, introduced, and cultivated. We are regularly used by the County Extension services and other Arizona state agencies, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Poison Control, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (including APHIS at the border in Nogales), the U.S. Department of Interior (such as the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management), and the Nature Conservancy. Our services are without charge, with the exception of for-profit consulting companies and individuals involved in such work. In addition to public service, we conduct research in plant classification, floristics, and ecology, and have established exchange and loan programs from a global network of herbaria.
The herbarium is shared by Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. There are also holdings of books; (1) as an extension of the Science and Engineering Library, and (2) an extensive reference collection for use in the herbarium.
The facility is to the public from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday, and other times by appointment. The herbarium accepts visitors and requests on a first-come-first-serve basis, but will accommodate scheduling needs of those who are traveling to Tucson from out of town.
Arizona Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
2831 North Freeway
Tucson, Arizona 85705
West Campus Agricultural Center
(near I-10 at Miracle Mile)
Phone: (520) 621-2356
Contact: Dr. Gregory Bradley
Website: www.microvet.arizona.edu/AzVDL/index.htm
The Laboratory, part of the Department of Veterinary Science and Microbiology, is one of the service and outreach components of the College of Agriculture. Created to support animal health and production, it provides diagnostic services to veterinarians, livestock producers, owners of pets and exotic animals. It collaborates with federal and state regulatory agencies, wildlife biologists, and public health organizations.
Its main goal is to identify disease problems that impact on domestic and other animal species in Arizona, while providing disease surveillance data and conducting applied research on animal health problems unique to the region. The diagnostic duties are carried out by the different sections of the laboratory, which include Pathology, Microbiology, Virology, Serology, Toxicology, and Field Services.
Specimens submitted directly by the public are accepted, but owners are encouraged to make arrangements through their veterinarians. Diagnostic fees are charged by the Laboratory to help offset the operational expenses.
Small group tours are sometimes set up, but you must first contact the office to make arrangements.
Environmental Research Lab
Next to the Tucson International Airport
2601 East Airport Drive
Tucson, Arizona 85706-6985
Phone: (520) 626-3322
Fax: (520) 573-0852
Website: cals.arizona.edu/azaqua/erlhome.html
The Environmental Research Lab is a teaching and research unit and is an internationally recognized center dedicated to studying ways to better understand and improve how we live in the desert. For over 30 years, its facility has investigated and showcased opportunities for establishing a more resource-conscious and sustainable relationship with the desert environment.
The Laboratory maintains more than 63,000 square feet of offices, laboratories, and controlled experimental facilities on-site.
There are public tours the first Tuesday of each month, at 1:30 pm, which last about 90 minutes. No reservations are required. The tour is lead by lab scientists and includes a history of the lab, a review of current projects, and a walking tour through the facilities. Walking shoes are suggested, because the tour goes through greenhouses with sand floors.
The subject of the tour has been found not to be of interest for children younger than 10 years. Arrangements for special tours may be requested by writing or faxing one month ahead in advance of desired tour dates.
Boyce Thompson Arboretum
37615 E. Highway 60
Superior, Arizona 85273-5100
(520) 689-2811
Director: Mark Bierner, at bierner@ag.arizona.edu
Website: cals.arizona.edu/bta/
Map showing Boyce Thompson location
Situated on the edge of the low desert near Superior, Arizona, this public botanic garden is a two-hour drive from the UA campus. The facility covers about 325 acres--about 50 acres of which are developed botantical gardens, about 160 acres of natural area which are open to the public, and an additional 110 acres of natural areas not currently open to the public.
This facility is operated cooperatively by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Arizona State Parks Board, and the Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum Board.
The Arboretum is open daily from 8 am to 5 pm except for Christmas. Admission is $5.00 for adults; $2.00 for children ages 5 to 12; and free for children 4 and under. Tours for school groups can be set up, but arrangements need to be made ahead of a visit.
V Bar V Ranch
The V Bar V Ranch is located in northern Arizona, to the east of Interstate 17, between Phoenix and Flagstaff, in the area of Camp Verde.
2657 S. Village Drive
Cottonwood, Arizona 86326
Phone: (928) 646-9113
Resident director: David Schafer, email of dschafer@ag.arizona.edu
Website: cals.arizona.edu/aes/vbarv/
This newest agricultural center, established in 1995, addresses environmental, wildlife and domestic livestock issues applicable to Arizona and the Southwest. The historic V Bar V is an 80,000 acre grazing allotment that runs about 30 miles east from Camp Verde along the Mogollon Rim. It varies between four and five miles in width and spans Coconino and Yavapai counties. Slightly more than 40 acres is private land, with the remainder held under lease from the U.S. Forest Service.
The variations in elevation allow the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to expand its experiment station network to include higher elevation ecosystems. In addition to 550 cattle, the ranch is also home for a wide variety of wildlife, ranging from mammals, birds and fish to reptiles and amphibians. Vegetation zones, including high desert chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodland, and pine forest, are typical of those on most of the commercial ranches in central and northern Arizona.
Maricopa Agricultural Center
Maricopa Agricultural Center
37860 W. Smith-Enke Road
Maricopa, Arizona 85239-3010
northwest of Casa Grande and south of Phoenix
Phone: (520) 568-2273
Resident director: Robert Roth, email of bobroth@ag.arizona.edu
Website: cals.arizona.edu/aes/mac/
The Maricopa Agricultural Center facilitates the production and dissemination of information about arid-region agriculture. Located in Pinal County, this 2,100 acre center is unique among experimental farms because it is divided into two farms: a research farm and a demonstration farm. The Research Farm includes 430 acres devoted to short and long staple cotton, small grains, alfalfa, vegetables, melons, and alternative crops such as guayule, lesquerella, hesperaloe, seed crops, turf and fish. Cotton research is a major emphasis.
The Demonstration Farm operates as a 1460-acre commercial farm. It receives no state or federal funding. All revenues must come from the sale of commodities and through funds from farm programs available to any commercial grower. This farm serves as a facility to demonstrate the commercial viability and manageability of promising research results and technologies. This has helped in transferring information from small research plots to the large commercial farms in Arizona.
Educational programs and tours involving students and educators (elementary, high school, and college) may be set up by contacting Victor Jimenez at vjimenez@ag.arizona.edu or calling (520) 568-2273.
Inquiries about other site visits should be directed (prior to coming) to Vicki Barker at vebarker@ag.arizona.edu or by calling (520) 568-2273.
Landscape Interpretive Trail and Demonstration Gardens
Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Office
4341 East Broadway
Phoenix, Arizona 85040-8807
Phone: (602) 470-8086
Contact: Jo Cook at jcook@cals.arizona.edu
A self-guided trail around the Maricopa County Office demonstrates effective landscape design and maintenance for the low desert. This trail was created and is cared for by volunteer Master Gardeners. Open from dawn to dusk, it includes low water-use plants, wildflowers, native plants, heritage rose garden, deciduous fruit, citrus, herbs, turf, vegetables, a children's garden, and a healing garden.
International Visitors to the College
International Agriculture Programs
The University of Arizona
416 North Warren
Tucson, Arizona 85721
Phone: (520) 620-9374
Contact: Dr. Amir Ajami
Website: cals.arizona.edu/oiap/
International visitors, wanting to learn more about the College's programs, should contact Dr. Amir Ajami at (520) 621-3283.