Birds, lizards, and other wildlife can greatly enhance your backyard environment and make your gardening more enjoyable. In this class, we’ll discuss techniques for increasing biodiversity in your landscape and how to attract wildlife using native plants.
Brandon Merchant was born and raised in Yuma Arizona and has lived in Tucson full time since 2009. Brandon, a certified Pima County Master Gardener and Lifelab Certified Garden Educator has been active in the Tucson garden and plant community for many years.
In 2012 he started Southwest Victory Gardens to share his knowledge and passion for gardening with others. He also served on the board of Tucson Organic Gardeners from 2012-2016 and currently serves on the board of Native Seeds Search. In November of 2020, he joined the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona staff full time as their new Health and Garden Education Coordinator.
Course Format
Masterclasses are a newer feature of the SBS Community Classroom Program. Masterclasses are taught by an expert instructor as a one-time workshop-style class. The class will be interactive according to the subject matter and students will get the opportunity for Q&A with the instructor(s).
Attendance & Participation
Creating Your Own Backyard Biodiversity Masterclass is one course from the three-part Cultivating the Desert Series. You have the option to participate in any of the three separate courses (Creating Your Own Backyard Biodiversity, Growing Wellness: Gardening in the Desert Southwest and Cultivating Ancestral Foodways: Nixtamal Masterclasses) or save on tuition by attending the whole series. This bundling option is available at the time of registration. This course is limited to 25 participants.
Tuition
$30 per class or $85 for the full series
Refunds
Refunds are available. They must be requested at least 48 hours before the start of the class. Individuals who register for the Masterclass bundle and need to arrange for cancelation and/or refund, please contact Stephanie Noriega at communitymatters@arizona.edu. A $10 administrative fee for each cancellation will apply.
Registration
Online registration for this course will open August 1, 2023 at 9 AM. After registration, participants will receive a receipt of registration. Subsequently, participants will receive class instructions 1 week before the start of the course.