Come visit Willow Bend’s new ponds and wetlands. Constructed by Coconino Parks and Recreation Department (CCPR) staff and planted by Friends of Willow Bend Gardens volunteers, these plants will establish Arizona’s Watchable Wildlife Experience (AWWE) in the heart of Flagstaff. is the final part of a multi-year project in Together, they provide a rare habitat for water-loving plants and animals and provide us humans with an oasis of beauty and tranquility.

CCPR Natural Resource Supervisor Geoffrey Gross used his considerable artistic and practical skills to create these features within Archuleta County Park. He carved and cast bronze reliefs of red-winged blackbirds and great blue herons and riveted them to the rock he shaped to shape the path to the water’s edge.

After excavating the pond with a backhoe and digging the bottom basalt with a jackhammer to make it deeper, a front-end loader is used to place the rocks around the shoreline, leaving some of them bare mud to saturate the water. I captured the footprints of animals that came to drink. He created a cascading waterfall to attract wildlife with its sound (as well as aerate the pond) and a boardwalk for us to observe the pond up close. He created swamps and slopes in the wetlands to catch stormwater runoff from parking lots.

Ponds support wildlife over amazing distances. Resident and migratory birds fly from all directions in search of water and baths. At dusk, bats leave their tree bark and under-eaves roosts to catch hovering insects and swoop down to sip water. During the dark hours, deer and raccoons come to drink from Sinclair Wash. A pond is also an ecosystem in itself. Dragonfly larvae spend weeks in the water, eating mosquito larvae and other aquatic organisms before emerging as adults and catching other flying insects.

Wetlands occur where water seasonally saturates the ground. At Willow Bend, rain and snowmelt flow from the parking lot into the wetlands, where flood-resistant plants slow the flow and settle sediments. Contaminants adhere to soil particles. Some are taken up by plants and microorganisms when water penetrates the ground. These man-made wetlands are not as biodiverse as natural wetlands, but they support wildlife, trap and clean runoff, and incrementally improve water quality. It also refutes the persistent view that wetlands are wastelands that should be drained and exploited.

Wetlands and ponds are both radial habitats, meaning an ever-expanding circle of different flora and fauna. More than 80% of Arizona’s wildlife species depend on wetlands and riverine habitats at some point in their life cycle. However, both of these habitats are now extremely rare in Arizona.

As the first feature you see as you approach the Willow Bend Center for Environmental Education, the ponds and wetlands invite you to stop and notice the natural world around you. Perhaps the most wonderful aspect of them is the way they captivate children and calm, busy and distracted adults and convince them to slow down and enjoy themselves in nature. They reflect the spirit of our community. , with a deep affinity for nature and the encouragement of an inquisitive child in all of us.

The park is open to the public free of charge throughout the year, so you can experience the ponds and wetlands at any time. Birders show up at dawn and dusk, seniors and dog walkers stop on their daily rounds, students read by the falls, and local families picnic on the boardwalk. From time to time, foreign tourists appear searching for local parks on their smartphones.

Ponds and wetlands are also valuable amenities for those living in surrounding underserved areas and college towns.

The Willow Bend Environmental Education Center is located at 703 E. Sawmill Road in Flagstaff within Elizabeth “Liz” C. Archuleta County Park.