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Cliff Fielding of Ahwatukee will share his extensive knowledge of Arizona cacti during a Zoom presentation next Tuesday. (Special to AFN)

Cliff Fielding of Ahwatukee will share his extensive knowledge of Arizona cacti during a Zoom presentation next Tuesday. (Special to AFN)

An Ahwatukee man who has studied, raised and rescued cacti in Arizona for most of his life will be the guest speaker at a free ZOOM discussion sponsored by the Desert Rivers Audubon Society at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, Aug. 9.

People can sign up for the Zoom presentation by Cliff Fielding at desertriversaudubon.org,

Wildlife that live in the Sonoran Desert are increasingly challenged to survive and thrive.

Fielding will discuss: the effects of the extended drought in Arizona

• How the desert has recovered from the Bush fire of two years ago; a large volunteer group based in Tucson that saves cacti from developers; and a unique plant that grows on South Mountain.

Society spokeswoman Elizabeth Farquhar of Ahwatukee said, “Fielding became fascinated with cacti when he was a teenager. Today his home is a showcase of cacti from the Southwest and around the world. Part of his backyard is a nursery for plants he is raising from seed.”

Fielding himself talked about his fascination with cacti and succulents in a piece in “Central Spine,” a newsletter published by the Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society (centralarizonacactus.org).

“I was interested in horticulture from a very young age,” he wrote. “Growing up on a small family dairy farm in Wisconsin, I started working in the garden as a lad. This interest in plants caused me to go to the local college library after seeing some cacti at a friend’s house.

“For quite some time, my interest was in finding more books on cacti and succulents through library loan. In one of the books, I found that it was possible to join societies and send away for seeds.”

He said he caught the “raising from seed bug” and first moved to New Mexico to start a nursery to produce seeds.

“Once the ball got rolling, it just kept on going. My wife and I started Mesa Garden in 1976, and pretty much the rest is history. One of the best parts of the work was taking trips to see plants in nature, and we continue to do this now.”

Fielding said he sold Mesa Garden in 2016 to retire and he and his wife “now are as busy as ever with plants, growing from seed and family.”

Desert Rivers is the local Audubon chapter in the East Valley and hosts expert speakers on the second Tuesday of every month.

During the summer, its programs are only on Zoom but the group plans to resume in-person sessions in September that also will be available online.

The mission of Desert Rivers Audubon Society is to educate and inspire our community to protect and preserve birds, wildlife and their habitats.

From fall to spring the chapter sponsors monthly owl walks at the Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus in east Mesa, as well as family birdwalks in Gilbert’s Riparian Preserve and Chandler’s Veterans Oasis Park.

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