Desert Awareness Committee
Desert Awareness Committee Celebrates 50 Years!Desert Awareness Committee Celebrates 50 Years!
Desert Awareness Committee has been the community resource advocate for the Sonoran Desert since 1974. Our mission is to educate residents and visitors so that they may join us in understanding, conserving and preserving our diverse and fragile desert; its plants, animals, water, and wildlife.
2026 Prickly Pear Festival is October 31st!
You won’t want to miss this annual FREE event held on the patio at The Holland Center. The Prickly Pear Fest is a treasured event in our Sonoran Desert. Come learn about the many things you can do with this abundant fruit including harvesting, juicing and flour processing. There will be delicious samples of smoothies, salsa, bread and more!
Check Out Our Virtual Field Trip!
Discover. Learn. Share.
Take a trip with your class through Desert Awareness Park as a Desert Explorer! Gather data as you explore, learn all about the plants and animals of the desert, then share with others! We are excited to announce our Desert Reach Education Program is now available on a 7 segment professional video with teacher guide, ready to be downloaded and used in your classroom or home.
DAC Education and Conservation
Educating the Public
We accomplish our education mission through:
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Our desert edibles and medicinal workshops for the public at large explaining how to harvest, prepare and use desert plants.
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Our “Fragile Desert” publication, a practical and informative guide to living sustainably in the Sonoran Desert plus “Chloe and the Desert Heroes”, a book that will inspire people of all ages to respect the natural world and honor the dignity of every human being.
- Our “Taste of the Desert” cook book with 77 recipes and how-to information on harvesting and preparing desert fruits, beans, nuts and flowers.
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Our 300 natural history articles written by members over 25 years.
Conservation – Desert Awareness Park
We accomplish our conservation mission through:
Our stewardship of Desert Awareness Park, located in Cave Creek, is dedicated to those who yearn to understand our desert home. You will find short nature trails, an interpretive center, picnic areas, children’s playground and an abundance of meaningful information about our surrounding desert.
Join us for a park tour on the 1st Saturday of the month, November – April, tours begin at 10am and last about 90mins.
Up-and-Coming
Come to our haunted desert for the 7th Annual Prickly Pear Festival! This free, family-friendly event features prickly pear treats and products, demonstrations of juicing, jojoba oil pressing and mesquite flour preparation, plus face painting, caricatures, a haunted-desert photo opportunity, and an interactive storytelling performance. Come in costume and kick off Halloween with fun, food, and desert-inspired festivities for all ages!
Discover the history, culture, language, and agricultural traditions of the O’odham and Piipaash, members of a thriving community bordering Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, and Fountain Hills. Explore how their ancestors lived along the Gila and Salt Rivers, including innovative approaches to water delivery and crop cultivation. Presented for free in partnership with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
Unplug and join us for a day of fresh air, fun and adventure at the Jewel of the Creek! Our signature program, the Desert Awareness Committee, and the Desert Foothills Land Trust for the 14th annual Desert Discovery Day. Explore the Sonoran Desert, learn about its past and present inhabitants, meet native wildlife, and enjoy hands-on activities for all ages.
Join us for a leisurely stroll through our local native desert park — led by a Desert Awareness Naturalist — and learn about Sonoran Desert upland plants and how they survive. Walks are the 1st Saturday of the month December through April, begin at 10 a.m., and last for 60-90 minutes. The Nature Trail is relatively flat, and the Saguaro Trail is slightly uphill.
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Join us for a leisurely stroll through our local native desert park — led by a Desert Awareness Naturalist — and learn about Sonoran Desert upland plants and how they survive. Walks are the 1st Saturday of the month December through April, begin at 10 a.m., and last for 60-90 minutes. The Nature Trail is relatively flat, and the Saguaro Trail is slightly uphill.
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Join us for a leisurely stroll through our local native desert park — led by a Desert Awareness Naturalist — and learn about Sonoran Desert upland plants and how they survive. Walks are the 1st Saturday of the month December through April, begin at 10 a.m., and last for 60-90 minutes. The Nature Trail is relatively flat, and the Saguaro Trail is slightly uphill.
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Join our signature program, the Desert Awareness Committee (DAC) as they lead a tour of all the wild, edible plants at our Desert Awareness Park. You will receive plenty of tips on Sonoran Desert plant identification, how to harvest, and prepare for eating. Enjoy delicious desert bites and nibbles prepared for all to sample.
Discover the healing power of the Sonoran Desert. Join our signature program, the Desert Awareness Committee, and walk through the desert like a true forager! You will learn to identify, harvest and prepare medicinal plants from the desert that have been used over the centuries by native cultures for healing. Take home your own pressed plant medicinal journal.
DAC Resources
The Fragile Desert
Published by Desert Awareness Committee
Much has been published about the lifestyle, plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert. The Foothills area is called “The Arizona Uplands” and has an elevation of 2500 to 4500 feet. The Fragile Desert addresses the issues that Foothills residents may encounter in adapting to, enjoying, and understanding the desert environment.
At Home in the Desert
A play for classroom use
“At Home in the Desert” written by Phyllis Strupp, is a one-act play, seeking to help elementary school students sort out their difficulties by connecting with the natural world around them, the desert. The play promotes diversity and communication and is perceived as a tool for reducing bullying. In the play, eleven year-old Chloe learns valuable life lessons from the Sonoran Desert with the help of some mysterious friends (historical figures, desert plants and animals).
