Discovering the Cracks of Imperfection in My Suburban Desert
How an Arizona Native Stopped Dreaming of Snow and Winding Rivers
The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, Arizona, where I grew up, is a water recycling facility disguised as an ecological habitat. It is a diverse biome where water meets land. The city treats wastewater and funnels it into the preserve’s ponds, where it slowly filters back into the aquifer. Almost 300 species of birds, cottontail rabbits, snakes, red-eared slider turtles, and butterflies also live in the 110-acre park, as well as around its ponds and adjoining lake of reclaimed-water.
The regional library, where I first …