Yuma Conservation Garden, Inc.  Mission Statement

   Our mission …to serve the educational community and the general public of the Yuma area by providing opportunities and resources which will promote awareness of and encourage responsible decision making regarding our natural resources.

The Yuma Conservation Garden Environmental Education Center provides area residents and visitors with an accessible, protected place to view and study desert ecology.  Created as an outdoor laboratory for the propagation and preservation of plants indigenous to the Sonoran Desert, the site features plant viewing trails, a rustic ramada and outdoor classroom area, a duck pond and antique farm machinery display.

In 1987, the Yuma and Laguna Natural Resource Conservation Districts assumed stewardship for the garden and created the Yuma Conservation Garden Board to manage the facility.  This Board is represented by District supervisors, the Yuma Education Service Agency, and the Yuma County Fair Board.

The garden is acknowledged by the Arizona State Land Department as an environmental Education Center and by the Arizona Game and Fish department as an Urban Wildlife area.  In the coming years, the garden staff and board members hope to continue promoting awareness of our desert environment, encouraging responsible use of this natural resource.  

To accomplish these goals, they have sponsored gardening and educational workshops, hosted school visits, and worked with volunteer groups to plant a desert wildflower garden.  The Sam Dick Memorial Outdoor classroom is situated in a natural rock amphitheatre and can seat 100 persons.  The Yuma Conservation Garden board makes it available to educational and other groups for programs and special events upon request.  It is open to the public most weekends during the winter months.

The Yuma Conservation Garden is located at the northeast corner of Pacific Avenue and Highway 80.  The 28-acre site includes a botanical garden featuring Sonoran desert vegetation, a watershed model, a pond for wild and domestic waterfowl, and a display of antique farm equipment.  

For more information call 928-317-1935, write to P.O. Box 6780, Yuma, Arizona, 85366-6780 or e-mail conservationgarden@gmail.com.