Ironwood Tree Experience

Our Mission: To create healthy and resilient communities, Ironwood Tree Experience makes it possible for young people to engage with the natural world and be stewards of the environment.

Ironwood Tree Experience (ITE) has been leading outdoor education programs in the Sonoran Desert and beyond for 18 years.
We offer programs for youth to learn about ecology, culture, and history and build a sense of place. By actively exploring urban and natural environments, young people feel a sense of connection to the outdoors and their communities. As a result, they are inspired to steward the environment and their home. Our programs offer the opportunities, access, and inspiration for these types of experiences.

Testimonials

~Jesus Mendoza (Youth Participant): "ITE is a great program to be in and has impacted my life in a very positive way. It helps us get into nature, which really helps with stress that I get from school. ITE campouts is an opportunity to be in nature and meet new people. It also helps us get to know Arizona more and meet different career opportunities."

~Chuck Sawyer (Supporter): "ITE provides a much needed avenue for Tucson kids to get into and begin to understand nature. For city kids, the ability to learn from and be engaged in the lessons that only the outdoors can teach is a great gift. Thanks for all ITE does to build community in Tucson."

~Deshawn Davis (Youth Participant): "I love nature because when you're in nature with others, no matter your background…it brings people together and connects people."

~Kristen Sawyer (Youth Development Manager): "I love hearing teens share their appreciations when we're out in the field together. Hearing things like, 'I so needed this,' help remind me that the opportunities we create are not just for young folks to learn about their environment, but also to develop skills and practices that help them cope with the stresses of daily life; and for me, nurturing others is its own form of nourishment."