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Dear Friends,
2015 was an exhilarating year for HPEC. We played an instrumental role in establishing over 27 acres of new natural areas in the midst of development and managed 250 acres of urban wildlife habitat for private landowners. We helped to establish numerous native plant/habitat gardens and hosted hundreds of visitors, volunteers, and students of all ages at our own 275 acre natural area and demonstration gardens. The National Wildlife Federation acknowledged our work by registering Centerra as the first “NWF Habitat Community” in Colorado and we received letters of support for our planned expansion from partner organizations throughout the State.
Here are some exciting highlights for HPEC in 2016…
- With every passing day HPEC gets closer to building our new Educational Visitor Center at the site of our demonstration gardens and native plant nursery on the shores of Houts Reservoir; if funding allows, construction will get underway in 2016.
- As Danielle Feeney, the new Principal of the High Plains School (now under construction), begins to hire her leadership team, HPEC will participate in discussions about what the unique partnership between the school and environmental center will entail. We are very excited about the possibilities for the school and wish that access to nature had been part of our schools when we were growing up!
- We are partnering with Denver Botanic Gardens, The Butterfly Pavilion, Colorado Native Plant Society, CSU Extension, and the Front Range Wild Ones to host a Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Symposium on March 12, 2016 at The Ranch in Loveland.
- We are partnering with Loveland Water & Power to launch a monthly Community Stewardship Lecture Series featuring lectures on topics such as landscaping for wildlife, composting, energy efficient homes, water conservation, and much more. Lectures will be held at Grimm Brothers Brewery the second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm. The first lecture will take place on Tuesday, January 12 and will feature a screening of Great Divide, a documentary film that illustrates the timeless influence of water in both connecting and dividing an arid state and region.
- I will be giving a presentation on gardening with beautiful, water-saving, native plants that support butterflies, birds, and other wildlife at Denver Botanic Gardens on January 23, as well as the Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Symposium on March 12 in Loveland, and at the Western Landscape Symposium in Pueblo on March 19.
- We will have our 3rd annual native plant sale on May 14, 2016 featuring plants grown in our own nursery at 2968 Bluestem Willow Drive. The day will also include local foods and demonstrations from various partners focused on wildlife and native landscaping.
For more information please visit our website at http://www.suburbitat.org.
We look forward to seeing you at HPEC this year and thanks for your continued support.
Jim Tolstrup - Executive Director
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