​​​​​​​​​​Laveen Conveyance Channel

The Nectar Corridor​​


ARTIST:   Valerie Otani and Fernanda  D'Agostino with Landscape Architect Diane McCloskey
DATE:   2008
LOCATION:  Laveen Conveyance Channel, 43rd Avenue to 51st Avenue
TYPE:   Sculpture, Seating and Landscaping
MATERIALS:  Carved stone and landscaping ​
BUDGET:   $ 349,900.00  
DISTRICT:   7
ZIP CODE:   85339​​​​


​The artist/landscape architect team designed this meandering “nectar corridor" to celebrate and attract the birds, bees, butterflies and other migratory pollinators crucial to Sonoran desert plants, and the agricultural economy that once shaped Laveen. The project combines carved stone sculptures and low seat walls with desert trees, shrubs and flowering plants along the conveyance channel's recreational trail.

The seat walls are faced with rustic flat stone and inset with carved and sandblasted stone tablets featuring some of the area's flowers and pollinators. McCloskey designed berms to add contour to the landscape and frame the artwork. She added trees around the seating to invite people to pause and enjoy the views. The seat walls echo the sinuous curves of the conveyance channel itself. The plantings serve as an outdoor guide for people wanting to attract pollinators to their homes. Their nectar bolsters the corridor's role as an essential migratory route from Mexico into the Northern United States.