In this milestone 350th episode of Life Along the Streetcar, we revisit the story that launched the show, Mission Garden, but with a fresh and powerful perspective.

Our guest is Alyce Sadongei, the current director of Mission Garden and a nationally recognized voice in Indigenous cultural preservation. With a background that includes years at the Smithsonian Institution, where she supported tribal communities in building museums and protecting native languages, Alyce brings deep expertise, vision, and heart to her work in Tucson.

In this conversation, Alyce shares how her leadership is helping Mission Garden evolve from a historical site into a living, breathing space for education, community, sustainability, and cultural connection. From waffle gardens and heirloom fruit trees to endangered aquatic plants and the surprising arrival of a mud turtle, this episode reveals how one garden is telling thousands of years of Tucson’s story under the guidance of someone uniquely qualified to do so.

🎧 Listen now to hear:

- Why Mission Garden is more than a museum, it’s a cultural timeline
- How Alyce's national work in tribal heritage brought her back to the Sonoran Desert
- The untold stories behind Tucson’s designation as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy
- What’s growing next at the garden and why it matters for all of us

🔗 Connect with us:

- Explore more stories at: lifealongthestreetcar.org
- Join the conversation on Facebook: facebook.com/LifeAlongTheStreetcar

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