Immersion Excursions
Our Saturday day-long immersion field trips can be anything from workshops at a local UU congregation to international travel. Most include local travel starting from one of three PSWD congregations. To help you select the best field trip for you, we’ve included:
NOTE: Parents are responsible for supervising all children under 18 years of age unless they are a part of the PSWD YRUU overnight. The exceptions are four trips from Amado; Where noted, the district will provide supervision for youth 14-17.
If an excursion is no longer on the drop-down menu as you register, it has filled up.
Tucson - Animals of the Sonoran Desert (Visit the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum)
Age Group: All -- Family Focus
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 3 (strollers available)
ADA accessible
Explore the plants, animals, birds and insects that make the Sonoran Desert their home. A visit here will help you to discover the beauty of this, the lushest desert in the world.
Themes: Desert terrain, flora and fauna
Special Requirements: One parent must accompany each family group of children.
Children 0-13yrs may now register for FREE for this excursion.
By registering with Justice DA they will get transportation, food, and all programing fees covered.
Tucson - Economic Refuge
Age Group: All -- Family Focus
Mostly indoors
Activity Level: 2
ADA accessible
Participate in a hands-on simulation to better understand the effects of NAFTA and other free trade policies on the daily lives of real people on both sides of the US/Mexico border. Then hear about immigration detention and write supportive cards to people being held in indefinite detention.
There will be two sections of this event.
Themes: Economy, free trade, immigration enforcement
Special Requirements: None
Children 0-13 may now register for FREE for this excursion.
By registering with Justice DA they will get transportation, food, and all programing fees covered.
Tucson - Supporting the Health of Migrants before and after Crossing
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Casa Alitas is a residential house in Tucson where released immigration detainees can be dropped off instead of at the bus station. Here they are hydrated, fed, and provided with travel supplies and an explanation of their detention status before beginning their trip. Our visit includes an overview of the services provided at the Casa, a tour of the facility, and an opportunity to offer some manual labor to assist. In the afternoon, assemble Harm Reduction Kits which are given to border crossers in Mexico before they cross. A key ingredient in the kits is Clorox vials that can be used by migrants to purify dirty landscape water in emergency situations.
Themes: Desert migration, humanitarian aid, health and safety
Special Requirements: This event will involve exposure to Clorox, a main ingredient in harm reduction kits
Amado - "Deterrence by Desert" and Humanitarian Aid
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 4
ADA accessible: NO
This experience includes a contemplative hike through the desert near Green Valley, AZ to locations where human remains have been found. Selected readings set a reflective tone. After lunch at Amado church, drive to the Humanitarian Aid Station in Arivaca and assist with life-saving water placement on the way back.
Themes: Humanitarian aid, border enforcement, desert landscapes, desert migration
Special Requirements: Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container; long pants encouraged. Will be divided in two groups, morning or afternoon hike.
NOTE: District provides youth supervision
Amado - Borderlands Water and Walls
Age Group: ALL
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 3
ADA accessible: NO
Visit the border east of Nogales to talk with a rancher on his land about the environmental and community impacts of the border wall. Learn about border infrastructure and its impacts on land, water, and wildlife with Dan Millis of the Sierra Club Borderlands Campaign.
Themes: Environment, border infrastructure
Special Requirements: Hat
Amado - Migrant Trail Walk 1 - BANWR
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Outdoors
Activity Level: 4
ADA accessible: NO
Hike a migrant trail with a "No More Deaths" guide. The 3 mile round trip overlooks the Altar Valley where NMD volunteers have put lifesaving water for years. Hiking difficulty: moderate
Themes: desert landscapes, desert migration, humanitarian aid, border enforcement
Special Requirements: Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container; long pants encouraged. No bathrooms.
Amado - Migrant Trail Walk 2 - Arivaca Lake Shrine
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Outdoors
Activity Level: 4 (Hiking difficulty moderate, with some scrabbling on all fours. One piece of the hike includes climbing a 12' rock face with good hand- and foot-holds.)
ADA accessible: NO
Hike a migrant trail with a "No More Deaths" guide. This three-mile round trip hike has a unique makeshift shrine on it. (See activity level required.)
Themes: Desert landscapes, desert migration, humanitarian aid, border enforcement
Special Requirements: Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container; long pants encouraged. No bathrooms.
NOTE: District provides youth supervision
FULL TRIPS
(As they fill up, opportunities listed below will not appear on the registration page.)
Tucson – Faith-Fueled Responses to Immigration
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Mostly indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Familiarize yourself with the challenges to "legal" immigration with a hands-on simulation at BorderLinks. Then learn about two faith groups in Tucson who are taking active steps to support migrants facing deportation back to violent or untenable situations in their home countries. Connect ideas of the value of each human person to hospitality, the harshness of legal structures, and the strength of community.
Themes: faith, immigration system, asylum, Sanctuary Movement, deportation
Special Requirements: None
Tucson - Immigration Detention - Visitation and Prevention
Age Group: Young adult, adult
Mostly indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Keep Tucson Together holds a legal clinic on the first Saturday of the month to assist undocumented individuals understand their legal options: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) paperwork, explore options for adults seeking relief from deportation or help those seeking asylum. Participants will shadow experienced volunteers.
Themes: Immigration detention, legal system
Special Requirements: Spanish language skills helpful, but not required
Tucson - Hospitality for Migrant Neighbors
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Meet with lay leaders at Southside Presbyterian Church to discuss how the Sanctuary Movement began in the 80s and how it operates today. Hear how the Southside faith community discerned a call to Sanctuary and how they are safeguarding members of their community from deportation. Spend the afternoon at Casa Alitas, a residential house in Tucson where released immigration detainees can be dropped off instead of at the bus station. Here they are hydrated, fed, and provided with travel supplies and an explanation of their detention status before beginning their trip. Our visit includes an overview of the services provided at the Casa, a tour of the facility, and an opportunity to offer some manual labor to assist.
Themes: Hospitality, immigration detention, alternatives to detention, asylum
Special Requirements: None
Tucson - Self-organizing Communities in the Face of Oppressive Systems
Age Group: ALL
Mostly indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Discover how the immigration system impacts the lives of real people who are seeking full and healthy lives under the threat of deportation. Hear from DREAMers who work with ScholarshipsA-Z about the process of applying for university admission and scholarships, and how they have built a supportive community. Share lunch with Mariposas sin Fronteras, a group of folks who support queer and trans migrants in and out of immigration detention. Then explore the legal system of immigration that forces community responses.
Themes: Education, LGBTQ, asylum, immigration system
Special Requirements: None
Sierra Vista - Building Capacity instead of Walls
Passport Required
Age Group: Young adult, adult
Indoors and outdoors
Activity Level: 2
Partial ADA accessibility - wheelchairs would be hard on dirt/muddy landscapes
Lack of economic opportunity is a major push factor for migration north out of Mexico. With Frontera de Cristo in Agua Prieta, Mexico, visit two local groups creating economic opportunity on the south side of the border. Visit the roasting plant of Cafe Justo, a coffee cooperative owned and operated by coffee growers in southern Mexico; meet volunteers at Douglas Prieta Trabaja, a women's cooperative investing in permaculture, handcrafts, and self-determination.
Themes: Economy, border infrastructure
Special Requirements: PASSPORT
Amado - Creating a Culture of Peace
Passport Required
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Indoors and outdoors
Activity Level: 2
ADA accessible: sort of
Spend the day with the Hogar de Esperanza y Paz, a community center in Nogales, Sonora. Learn about the work HEPAC is doing to support children in their neighborhood and get a chance to get out into Nogales to see how life works there. Visit the border wall and talk with members of the community about how U.S. border enforcement strategies impact their lives.
Themes: Economy, violence and non-violence, community centers, children, border infrastructure and enforcement
Special Requirements: PASSPORT
Amado - UUJAZ Border Tour (19+)
Passport Required
Age Group: Young adult, adult
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 3 (Stairs and uneven terrain)
ADA accessible: NO
A varied border adventure: Begin in Arizona by visiting Pena Blanca Lake (where many crossers are captured by Border Patrol) and hiking through Walker Canyon to leave water jugs for dehydrated migrants. Then cross into Mexico through the Mariposa Gate, take a local bus to the memorial to Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez (young man shot to death by BP), taxi to a migrant shelter, then visit El Comedor (where migrants are fed). Walk back through the Mariposa gate for return to church.
Themes: Border infrastructure, border enforcement, humanitarian aid
Special Requirements: PASSPORT, Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container
NOTE: This tour will be the inverse of the 60+ tour and will use the main lines at the border crossing.
Amado - UUJAZ Border Tour (60+)
Passport Required
Age Group: Adults 60+
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 3 (Stairs and uneven terrain)
ADA accessible: NO
A varied border adventure: Enter MX at the main crossing, take a local bus to El Comedor (where migrants are fed), walk to Grupos Beta (MX migrant protection agency,taxi to a migrant shelter, then visit the memorial to Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez (young man shot to death by Border Patrol) before crossing back into AZ. On the AZ side visit Pena Blanca Lake (where many crossers are captured by BP) and hike through Walker Canyon to leave water jugs for dehydrated migrants.
Themes: Border infrastructure, border enforcement, humanitarian aid
Special Requirements: PASSPORT, Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container
NOTE: This tour will be the inverse of the 19+ tour and will use the Express Lane border crossing for those over 60.
Amado - Sasabe, Sonora Humanitarian Aid
Passport Required
Age Group: Adult
Indoors and outdoors
Activity Level: 2 (Includes sitting, standing and walking approx 1.5 mile round trip into Sasabe, Sonora.)
ADA accessible: probably not
Participants will accompany Carlotta, a very experienced humanitarian aid volunteer, on a drive to the border where you'll walk across to experience the town of Sasabe, Sonora and assist Carlotta in giving food and clothing to migrants.
Themes: Desert migration, humanitarian aid, economy
Special Requirements: PASSPORT, Hat, Spanish language skills helpful, but not required
Amado - Wildlife and the Border Wall
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Mostly Outdoors
Activity Level: 2
ADA accessible: NO
This is a driving tour to Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) headquarters to visit with officials there and hear their views on managing a refuge that lies in part on the US/MX border. The group will then go to Sasabe, AZ to drive along the wall with a "No More Deaths" guide to observe and experience the effects of the wall on human beings and wildlife in this remote region.
Themes: Migration, environment, border wall, border infrastructure, wildlife
Special Requirements: None
NOTE: District provides youth supervision
- Passport requirements
- Age groups (all, high school, young adult, adult, adult 60+)
- Setting
- Activity level (1=mostly sitting 2=sitting and standing, 3=mostly standing/walking, 4=hiking/hiking with weight)
- ADA accessibility
- Description
- Themes
- Special requirements
NOTE: Parents are responsible for supervising all children under 18 years of age unless they are a part of the PSWD YRUU overnight. The exceptions are four trips from Amado; Where noted, the district will provide supervision for youth 14-17.
If an excursion is no longer on the drop-down menu as you register, it has filled up.
Tucson - Animals of the Sonoran Desert (Visit the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum)
Age Group: All -- Family Focus
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 3 (strollers available)
ADA accessible
Explore the plants, animals, birds and insects that make the Sonoran Desert their home. A visit here will help you to discover the beauty of this, the lushest desert in the world.
Themes: Desert terrain, flora and fauna
Special Requirements: One parent must accompany each family group of children.
Children 0-13yrs may now register for FREE for this excursion.
By registering with Justice DA they will get transportation, food, and all programing fees covered.
Tucson - Economic Refuge
Age Group: All -- Family Focus
Mostly indoors
Activity Level: 2
ADA accessible
Participate in a hands-on simulation to better understand the effects of NAFTA and other free trade policies on the daily lives of real people on both sides of the US/Mexico border. Then hear about immigration detention and write supportive cards to people being held in indefinite detention.
There will be two sections of this event.
Themes: Economy, free trade, immigration enforcement
Special Requirements: None
Children 0-13 may now register for FREE for this excursion.
By registering with Justice DA they will get transportation, food, and all programing fees covered.
Tucson - Supporting the Health of Migrants before and after Crossing
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Casa Alitas is a residential house in Tucson where released immigration detainees can be dropped off instead of at the bus station. Here they are hydrated, fed, and provided with travel supplies and an explanation of their detention status before beginning their trip. Our visit includes an overview of the services provided at the Casa, a tour of the facility, and an opportunity to offer some manual labor to assist. In the afternoon, assemble Harm Reduction Kits which are given to border crossers in Mexico before they cross. A key ingredient in the kits is Clorox vials that can be used by migrants to purify dirty landscape water in emergency situations.
Themes: Desert migration, humanitarian aid, health and safety
Special Requirements: This event will involve exposure to Clorox, a main ingredient in harm reduction kits
Amado - "Deterrence by Desert" and Humanitarian Aid
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 4
ADA accessible: NO
This experience includes a contemplative hike through the desert near Green Valley, AZ to locations where human remains have been found. Selected readings set a reflective tone. After lunch at Amado church, drive to the Humanitarian Aid Station in Arivaca and assist with life-saving water placement on the way back.
Themes: Humanitarian aid, border enforcement, desert landscapes, desert migration
Special Requirements: Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container; long pants encouraged. Will be divided in two groups, morning or afternoon hike.
NOTE: District provides youth supervision
Amado - Borderlands Water and Walls
Age Group: ALL
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 3
ADA accessible: NO
Visit the border east of Nogales to talk with a rancher on his land about the environmental and community impacts of the border wall. Learn about border infrastructure and its impacts on land, water, and wildlife with Dan Millis of the Sierra Club Borderlands Campaign.
Themes: Environment, border infrastructure
Special Requirements: Hat
Amado - Migrant Trail Walk 1 - BANWR
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Outdoors
Activity Level: 4
ADA accessible: NO
Hike a migrant trail with a "No More Deaths" guide. The 3 mile round trip overlooks the Altar Valley where NMD volunteers have put lifesaving water for years. Hiking difficulty: moderate
Themes: desert landscapes, desert migration, humanitarian aid, border enforcement
Special Requirements: Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container; long pants encouraged. No bathrooms.
Amado - Migrant Trail Walk 2 - Arivaca Lake Shrine
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Outdoors
Activity Level: 4 (Hiking difficulty moderate, with some scrabbling on all fours. One piece of the hike includes climbing a 12' rock face with good hand- and foot-holds.)
ADA accessible: NO
Hike a migrant trail with a "No More Deaths" guide. This three-mile round trip hike has a unique makeshift shrine on it. (See activity level required.)
Themes: Desert landscapes, desert migration, humanitarian aid, border enforcement
Special Requirements: Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container; long pants encouraged. No bathrooms.
NOTE: District provides youth supervision
FULL TRIPS
(As they fill up, opportunities listed below will not appear on the registration page.)
Tucson – Faith-Fueled Responses to Immigration
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Mostly indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Familiarize yourself with the challenges to "legal" immigration with a hands-on simulation at BorderLinks. Then learn about two faith groups in Tucson who are taking active steps to support migrants facing deportation back to violent or untenable situations in their home countries. Connect ideas of the value of each human person to hospitality, the harshness of legal structures, and the strength of community.
Themes: faith, immigration system, asylum, Sanctuary Movement, deportation
Special Requirements: None
Tucson - Immigration Detention - Visitation and Prevention
Age Group: Young adult, adult
Mostly indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Keep Tucson Together holds a legal clinic on the first Saturday of the month to assist undocumented individuals understand their legal options: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) paperwork, explore options for adults seeking relief from deportation or help those seeking asylum. Participants will shadow experienced volunteers.
Themes: Immigration detention, legal system
Special Requirements: Spanish language skills helpful, but not required
Tucson - Hospitality for Migrant Neighbors
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Meet with lay leaders at Southside Presbyterian Church to discuss how the Sanctuary Movement began in the 80s and how it operates today. Hear how the Southside faith community discerned a call to Sanctuary and how they are safeguarding members of their community from deportation. Spend the afternoon at Casa Alitas, a residential house in Tucson where released immigration detainees can be dropped off instead of at the bus station. Here they are hydrated, fed, and provided with travel supplies and an explanation of their detention status before beginning their trip. Our visit includes an overview of the services provided at the Casa, a tour of the facility, and an opportunity to offer some manual labor to assist.
Themes: Hospitality, immigration detention, alternatives to detention, asylum
Special Requirements: None
Tucson - Self-organizing Communities in the Face of Oppressive Systems
Age Group: ALL
Mostly indoors
Activity Level: 1
ADA accessible
Discover how the immigration system impacts the lives of real people who are seeking full and healthy lives under the threat of deportation. Hear from DREAMers who work with ScholarshipsA-Z about the process of applying for university admission and scholarships, and how they have built a supportive community. Share lunch with Mariposas sin Fronteras, a group of folks who support queer and trans migrants in and out of immigration detention. Then explore the legal system of immigration that forces community responses.
Themes: Education, LGBTQ, asylum, immigration system
Special Requirements: None
Sierra Vista - Building Capacity instead of Walls
Passport Required
Age Group: Young adult, adult
Indoors and outdoors
Activity Level: 2
Partial ADA accessibility - wheelchairs would be hard on dirt/muddy landscapes
Lack of economic opportunity is a major push factor for migration north out of Mexico. With Frontera de Cristo in Agua Prieta, Mexico, visit two local groups creating economic opportunity on the south side of the border. Visit the roasting plant of Cafe Justo, a coffee cooperative owned and operated by coffee growers in southern Mexico; meet volunteers at Douglas Prieta Trabaja, a women's cooperative investing in permaculture, handcrafts, and self-determination.
Themes: Economy, border infrastructure
Special Requirements: PASSPORT
Amado - Creating a Culture of Peace
Passport Required
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Indoors and outdoors
Activity Level: 2
ADA accessible: sort of
Spend the day with the Hogar de Esperanza y Paz, a community center in Nogales, Sonora. Learn about the work HEPAC is doing to support children in their neighborhood and get a chance to get out into Nogales to see how life works there. Visit the border wall and talk with members of the community about how U.S. border enforcement strategies impact their lives.
Themes: Economy, violence and non-violence, community centers, children, border infrastructure and enforcement
Special Requirements: PASSPORT
Amado - UUJAZ Border Tour (19+)
Passport Required
Age Group: Young adult, adult
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 3 (Stairs and uneven terrain)
ADA accessible: NO
A varied border adventure: Begin in Arizona by visiting Pena Blanca Lake (where many crossers are captured by Border Patrol) and hiking through Walker Canyon to leave water jugs for dehydrated migrants. Then cross into Mexico through the Mariposa Gate, take a local bus to the memorial to Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez (young man shot to death by BP), taxi to a migrant shelter, then visit El Comedor (where migrants are fed). Walk back through the Mariposa gate for return to church.
Themes: Border infrastructure, border enforcement, humanitarian aid
Special Requirements: PASSPORT, Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container
NOTE: This tour will be the inverse of the 60+ tour and will use the main lines at the border crossing.
Amado - UUJAZ Border Tour (60+)
Passport Required
Age Group: Adults 60+
Mostly outdoors
Activity Level: 3 (Stairs and uneven terrain)
ADA accessible: NO
A varied border adventure: Enter MX at the main crossing, take a local bus to El Comedor (where migrants are fed), walk to Grupos Beta (MX migrant protection agency,taxi to a migrant shelter, then visit the memorial to Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez (young man shot to death by Border Patrol) before crossing back into AZ. On the AZ side visit Pena Blanca Lake (where many crossers are captured by BP) and hike through Walker Canyon to leave water jugs for dehydrated migrants.
Themes: Border infrastructure, border enforcement, humanitarian aid
Special Requirements: PASSPORT, Hat, Hiking boots or sturdy shoes, refillable water container
NOTE: This tour will be the inverse of the 19+ tour and will use the Express Lane border crossing for those over 60.
Amado - Sasabe, Sonora Humanitarian Aid
Passport Required
Age Group: Adult
Indoors and outdoors
Activity Level: 2 (Includes sitting, standing and walking approx 1.5 mile round trip into Sasabe, Sonora.)
ADA accessible: probably not
Participants will accompany Carlotta, a very experienced humanitarian aid volunteer, on a drive to the border where you'll walk across to experience the town of Sasabe, Sonora and assist Carlotta in giving food and clothing to migrants.
Themes: Desert migration, humanitarian aid, economy
Special Requirements: PASSPORT, Hat, Spanish language skills helpful, but not required
Amado - Wildlife and the Border Wall
Age Group: High school, young adult, adult
Mostly Outdoors
Activity Level: 2
ADA accessible: NO
This is a driving tour to Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) headquarters to visit with officials there and hear their views on managing a refuge that lies in part on the US/MX border. The group will then go to Sasabe, AZ to drive along the wall with a "No More Deaths" guide to observe and experience the effects of the wall on human beings and wildlife in this remote region.
Themes: Migration, environment, border wall, border infrastructure, wildlife
Special Requirements: None
NOTE: District provides youth supervision