Desert Survivors, Inc.

Desert Survivors Inc. is dedicated to providing quality employment to adults with developmental disabilities, advocacy to families and individuals, desert friendly products at our Native Plant Nursery and services to our community. Our services promote respect for each individual while developing work skills in a supported environment leading to competitive employment in the community. Our products promote and celebrate healthy living and the protection of the fragile ecology of our desert home.

Welcome to Desert Survivors, we're a Native Plant Nursery and so much more! Our retail nursery carries around 700 species of local and regional native plants, mostly from the Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest. We're also an employment and job training program for adults with intellectual & developmental disabilities (IDD). We are the only plant nursey of our kind in Arizona, where we grow about 80% of our inventory onsite from seed and cuttings. We employ about 40 individuals with IDD in our Group Supported Employment program, to prepare and move them toward competitive employment in the community. Our integrated work program provides work opportunities for the members of our program in both on-site projects, as well as off-site work through contracts we maintain with the city to manage areas in Downtown Tucson and the Santa Cruz River paths. Our expert nursery staff engage in ongoing research projects include water harvesting, desert ecology and invasive species. As an integrated work environment where every employee/trainee is treated equally with respect and dignity. We honor all diversity. We are also developing a bicycle friendly area at the back of our nursery where there's a gate leading to the Chuck Huckleberry Loop. Cycling events for all ages will start up again soon, as this project was put on hold throughout the pandemic. Please come in for a visit, check out all our plants and cactus, see the variety of plant materiel we carry and see the quiet solution at work here in our little corner of Starr Pass by the Santa Cruz River in Tucson, Arizona.

Testimonials

Stephen Ehlers recommends Desert Survivors Inc.
October 14, 2018 ·
Wow. Wow. If you have *even a passing interest* in cacti, succulents, or native gardens, a visit here is a must. They took the time to point out interesting plants and explain what would work for me when I took things home (to Seattle). I'll be back for sure.

Jeff Adams recommends Desert Survivors Inc.
July 10, 2018 ·
I have been an on & off member here for over 15 yrs, even though I live in Tempe in the Metro Phoenix area. This has long been one of my favorite nurseries. No one in the industry is more passionate or knowledgeable than manager Jim Verrier, but the entire team is great. Highly recommend this Nursery !!

‎Kathy Getman‎ to Desert Survivors Inc.
July 2, 2018 ·
This young man is so very excited and happy to have started his first paid job, in such a beautiful and supportive environment. He and our whole family love Desert Survivors! <3

Tucson Downtown is in Tucson, Arizona.
February 1, 2018 ·
We are very happy to contract with Desert Survivors Inc., a local non-profit human service agency that operates a retail native plant nursery and provides jobs for over forty adults with disabilities. They are planting beautiful desert species, grown right here in Tucson by adults with disabilities, in our Downtown planters to save on watering costs and enhance our streetscapes. Thank you, Desert Survivors!