The Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society is celebrating its 50th anniversary on November.
Many of its founding members were Desert Botanical Garden volunteers. Bob Moulis and Henry Triesler organized the first get together of those interested in forming the society in April 1973.
By May, the group decided on the organization’s name, became a 501(3)c nonprofit organization and an affiliate of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America. In the first year, the monthly newsletter was established: The Central Spine. Monthly meetings are presented by field experts.
The Garden has welcomed the Society by providing meeting space for monthly and committee meetings, tables and tents for the society’s annual show and sale and supports the society in numerous ways.
The society now has close to 700 members who meet monthly for an educational program and silent plant auction. Members typically meet once a month to talk about upcoming events, share news, listen to presentations about cactus and succulents and/ or travel experiences in search of plants in their native habitats. In addition, members can go on field trips to visit local and out-of-state gardens and plant shows, borrow books from large club-owned library available at each meeting and enter their plants in a Society Show.
Visit their website at centralzrizonacactus.org for meetings times, program and membership information.
