The Heartland Trial at Boyce Thompson Arboretum
About
The Heartland Trial at Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA) is a Reap Goodness project with three main objectives:
To provide food and medicine from plants grown on the property for the City of Superior, Queen Valley, Kearny and other nearby Copper Corridor towns, without degrading the site in the process.
To create a cooperative partnership that includes local residents, working with experts in wildland agriculture, rainwater harvesting, construction, and other areas.
To demonstrate and educate local community members and anyone worldwide in high desert environments about the process of creating and benefitting from a sustainable desert food forest.
The Land
Boyce Thompson Arboretum has been generous in loaning us five acres of pristine Sonoran Desert Land adjacent to the Arboretum. The property is close to US 60 and bordered by Queen Creek to the south and the Tonto National Forest to the north. The land slopes gently to the south and west, and the slope is covered in grasses and other native plants such as creosote, jojoba, wolfberry and prickly pear. Near the Queen Creek boundary of the property, there is a fertile, shaded floodplain with a small tributary wash. This area supports legume trees including mesquite and palo verde trees in addition to many grasses and forbs; it is also home to a large number of wild animals including mule deer, javelina, jackrabbits and others.
Who We Are
The Heartland Trial Leadership Team is fortunate to have as members several native plant and ethnobotany experts; rainwater harvesting experts; community engagement and team process experts; and several Arizona State University students in a variety of programs. Short bio sketches are available for our Leadership Team members. Scroll down to read their bios.
Progress & Plans
In the spring of 2024, the team began to map the site, with the intent of future rainwater harvesting activities. During the summer, the team and a small group of local volunteers (thank you!!) have been moving rocks and debris to construct little dams along the small tributary wash. There hasn’t been enough rain this summer to see if these dams have successfully slowed the flow of water through the wash, but we’re hoping the winter rains will be more generous.
Plans for next year include looking at sheet flow on the slope, and marking contour lines to build larger rock dams. None of these structures is permanent; they can all be removed fairly easily should the need arise to return the land to its original state.
How You Can Participate
We are always happy to accept volunteers to help with this project! We need everything from strong backs and willing hands to work on the land, to knowledge of agroforestry, dryland farming, events, grants, community engagement, social media presence… the list goes on. You can contact us with this form.
Alternatively, if you would like to make a donation, Reap Goodness is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your donation is completely tax deductible. We have no paid staff on this project, and very little administrative overhead expenses. Your donations will go towards: Bringing in supplemental water, Soil testing, fencing, plants, refreshments for volunteer events, etc. You can make a donation here.
Heartland Trial at BTA Leader Team Member
Timm Esque
Timm Esque started volunteering with Reap Goodness in 2020 and is currently the leader of the Heartland Trial at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. He also teaches embodied leadership and co-hosts a podcast called Mind & Body@Work through the company he co-founded – East Valley Leader Lab.
Timm spent his formative years in a variety of roles at Intel Corporation, eventually becoming an internal consultant to high stakes project teams. Later Timm published his key learnings at Intel (No Surprises Project Management, 1999) and consulted to teams globally, including Fortune 100, small businesses, nonprofits and US AID. He has consulted and/or presented in 21 countries.
Anne Ellis, PhD
Landscape designer and consultant Anne Ellis has worked in industrial, academic and government research, and holds earned degrees in Organic Chemistry, Business Management, and Environmental Policy. A certified Master Gardener, she earned credentials as a Landscape Designer through the ASLA-accredited Desert Botanical Garden in 2020.
Anne focuses on xeriscaping and desert-adapted plants with an emphasis on native desert plants. She has been gardening and planting trees since childhood and has now been gardening in the desert for over 25 years.
Cyndi Ruehl
Earning advanced degrees in Ecological Restoration and Environmental Psychology, and as a retired water resource specialist with the state of Arizona, Cyndi has concentrated her career in natural resource planning and conservation in the Sonoran Desert. Her love of the desert has led to a 40-year study of ethnobotany; the traditional uses and relationships of the desert plants’ uses as food and medicine.
