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Project Challenge

�Our challenge is to fairly increase Denverites' access to ‘nearby nature’ while achieving multiple municipal policy goals including increasing climate & drought resilience, while improving urban biodiversity & pollinator habitats. Community members need scientifically robust & cost-effective tools/data to help prioritize where habitat projects should be implemented with community support.

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Nearby Nature: Community-driven research to equitably improve Denver's climate resilience through urban landscape transformations for people & pollinators

Denver, CO

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NSF Award ID: 2431384​

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PI: Jen Kovecses, Salazar Center for North American Conservation​, Colorado State University

2024 Civic Innovation Challenge

Pilot Vision

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To accelerate the implementation of landscape transformations and urban greening projects that support increasing pollinator habitats, connect more people to nature, and improve Denver’s climate resiliency by co-creating research tools and fill data gaps to aid and accelerate decision making around community-driven project implementation.

Civic Partners:

  • Denver Parks Trust
  • Denver Parks & Recreation
  • Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, & Resiliency
  • Denver Division of Green Infrastructure

Research Partners:

  • Dr. John Mola, CSU
  • Dr. Rebecca Niemiec, CSU

Research Questions

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  1. Does sufficient habitat connectivity exist to support sustained pollinator populations across the city? We will test previously modeled assumptions of landscape connectivity for Denver pollinators by using genetic mark-recapture techniques to ground-truth pollinator habitat connectivity and identify habitat gaps where project implementation should be focused.
  2. What are community members' perspectives towards pollinator friendly landscapes, and what additions to or spatial distribution of such landscapes do community members desire?
  3. To what extent does participatory mapping focused on integrating spatially explicit community values in the design of pollinator friendly landscapes impact social outcomes, such as increased community acceptance of plans and trust in municipal government?

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