Cave Creek, Arizona – Walter (Wally) E. Camp, a long time Cave Creek resident and local contractor, has found a new calling by volunteering his time at the Cave Creek Museum. Camp recently visited the museum to see how he could help with research, collections, exhibits and the Veterans Memory Garden.
“I’ve had a great career but now I’m semi-retired except for part- time native plant and landscape consultation” says Camp. “I have a considerable amount of local expertise and experience, along with some free time, so I reached out to the Cave Creek Museum to see where I might be able to assist.”
Camp was employed at Desert Highlands from 1983 to 1990 and Desert Mountain from 1990 to 2003 as head of the Environmental Management Department.
“While at Desert Highlands, I discovered a previously unknown Cholla cactus that Arizona State University named Cylindropuntia x campii in my honor,” says Camp. “At Desert Mountain, I was responsible for landscape design and the installation of new construction, along with the salvaging of native plants and Sonoran Desert restoration. It was gratifying that Desert Highlands and Desert Mountain were known as the leaders in the desert restoration field and that our early work led to the adoption of the Scottsdale Native Plant Ordinance.”
In 2003, he started a landscape and irrigation company, Natural Habitat, Inc., and became Desert Mountain Properties’ prime landscape contractor.
Camp says his interest in archaeology began when he worked as assistant superintendent on a Rio Verde golf course in the 1970s.
“During construction of a second golf course, workers encountered several Hohokam pithouses,” adds Camp. “I was fascinated and eventually left Rio Verde in 1979 and returned to school to study anthropology with a focus on Southwestern archaeology,and biology, focusing on the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert.”
In 1985, Camp was elected president of the Desert Foothills Chapter of the Arizona Archaeology Society, then was appointed to the Cave Creek Median Landscape Advisory Committee (MEDLAC) followed by an appointment to the Cave Creek Parks and Recreation Commission (PARCS). One of PARC’s accomplishments was the building of Cave Creek’s “Desert Awareness Park” in the 1990s.
“I look forward to volunteering at the Cave Creek Museum several days a week and would particularly like to assist in completing the Veterans Memory Garden improvements,” adds Camp.
Cave Creek Museum loves that its volunteers are incredibly talented and motivated.
The 55-year-old museum’s mission is to preserve the artifacts of the prehistory, history, culture and legacy of the Cave Creek Mining District and the Cave Creek/Carefree foothills area through education, research, and interpretive exhibits. The Cave Creek Museum is located at 6140 E. Skyline Drive in Cave Creek, Ariz., 480.488.2764. Open October through May.
