From Baseline to the Parkway

From Baseline to the Parkway: How Collaborative Conservation Is Giving Pollinators a Fighting Chance

Across North America, bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and other pollinating invertebrates are declining due to habitat loss, chemical pollution, parasites, and pathogens. These species are essential to food systems, biodiversity, and healthy ecosystems. Without them, as much as one out of every three bites of food we eat could be at risk. At Butterfly Pavilion, we believe conservation is strongest when people work together. When science, planning, and community commitment align, pollinators respond. Two projects in Broomfield show just how powerful collaborative conservation can be. 

A Proven Model at Baseline

In 2019, Butterfly Pavilion launched the concept of Pollinator Districts™. These are communities intentionally designed to conserve and improve habitat for pollinators across every stage of development and long-term operation.

The first Pollinator District was created in partnership with Baseline, a 1,100-acre master planned community built around environmental stewardship, healthy living, and innovation. Nearly 170 acres of Baseline are dedicated to parks, natural land, and open space connected by trails, garden paths, and pollinator-friendly plantings.

The results were both measurable and encouraging.

Before construction began at Baseline in 2019, Butterfly Pavilion scientists visited the site and documented only 11 families of pollinators. The site supported no bumble bees, leafcutter bees, or butterflies.  Over the past five years, as the landscape has taken root and native plants have matured, that picture has changed dramatically. In late spring and late summer of 2025, Butterfly Pavilion scientists returned to inventory pollinators and documented pollinators in 27 different families.  This marked a significant increase in diversity compared to earlier years and reflected steady growth in both native pollinators and honey bees. Researchers consistently observed pollinators visiting native plants selected for habitat value and recorded broadtail hummingbirds, one of the region’s few vertebrate pollinators, for the first time. Several insect families, including longhorn beetles, plasterer bees, and digger wasps, were also documented at Baseline for the first time.

Baseline became Butterfly Pavilion’s first certified Pollinator District™, demonstrating that when habitat is designed with intention, supported by science, and cared for over time, pollinators thrive. 

Expanding Conservation Along Northwest Parkway

Building on the success at Baseline, Butterfly Pavilion is now applying the same data-driven approach along the Northwest Parkway, showing how even transportation corridors can become meaningful habitat.

Beginning in spring 2026, Butterfly Pavilion scientists will visit a one-mile stretch of the Parkway’s southern right-of-way to document existing pollinators and vegetation before any habitat improvements are made. These initial site visits will establish a baseline, allowing researchers to understand current conditions and measure change over time.

Based on these findings, Butterfly Pavilion will provide science-based recommendations for native plant selection, seeding, and long-term landscape management. Scientists will return for ongoing monitoring, tracking how pollinator populations respond and using that data to guide future improvements.

This long-term, evidence-based approach mirrors the Pollinator District model developed at Baseline: assess first, design intentionally, monitor consistently, and adapt based on results. By transforming a working transportation corridor into a living pollinator corridor, the project shows how infrastructure can support biodiversity when guided by science and long-term stewardship. Read more here: Groups plan pollinator paradise along Northwest Parkway Groups plan pollinator paradise along Northwest Parkway | Environment | westminsterwindow.com