Impact Beyond the Numbers: How We’re Restoring Urban Prairies

Impact Beyond the Numbers: A Spotlight on Our Urban Prairies Project

Over the last century, the shortgrass prairie ecosystem that once dominated the Colorado Front Range has declined to less than one-fifth of its original area. In addition, we have witnessed a significant loss in crucial plant and animal species, including critical pollinators.

To combat this issue, in 2016 Butterfly Pavilion partnered with the City of Broomfield and City of Westminster to create the Urban Prairies Project, where we train community members to become Master Restoration Volunteers who help restore and enhance Colorado open spaces. With this program, Master Restoration Volunteers focus on areas in need of restoration and collect data about plants and wildlife, lead restoration workdays, conduct post restoration assessments, and educate the public about their local open spaces and the need for restoration efforts. Restoration helps protect and revitalize invertebrate populations, a critical piece of healthy ecosystems. 

In 2023 alone, 43 new Master Restoration Volunteers contributed over 100 hours of field work to restore Colorado open space at 11 different work sites. Since 2016, 134 volunteers have given over 1,000 hours restoring over 3,500 acres of land.

Ashley White, Butterfly Pavilion’s Community Habitats Manager who leads the Urban Prairies Project shares that the Urban Prairies Project is a very holistic restoration program. “We focus on it not just being one and done, but getting the whole picture of the health of the site. Volunteers go through a 15-hour training where they learn restoration best practices from start to finish. This includes conducting initial land assessments, conducting restoration activities, monitoring for changes in the ecosystem, post-restoration assessments, leave no trace principles, and more.” says, White.

Yet, the numbers only tell half the story.

White explains, “The idea behind the Urban Prairies Project is to facility ripple effects in the community, where beyond training volunteers to restore land, we are empowering volunteers to lead their own restoration projects in their own communities. This project helps build a sense of comradery between neighbors and allows people to spend more time outdoors in nature. We’re building up community leaders and forming a supportive and engaged community right before our eyes.”

Brandon and Michelle are two Master Restoration Volunteers who joined the program in 2023 and have since started their own restoration project in Northglenn.

“Our intrigue started a few years ago when milkweed started popping up in our yard. At the time, we didn’t know what it was, but we did some research and learned that it was food for monarchs. When we learned that monarch populations were in decline, we planted more milkweed and now our yard is a monarch waystation.” says Michelle.

“We also had this beautiful and lush canal that backed up to our backyard. But a few years ago, they cut down all the trees. It was devastating.” said Michelle, “We emailed the city and started bugging them, trying to figure out what we could do about it”.

After these experiences, Brandon and Michelle felt inspired to get involved in the Urban Prairies Project. “We’ve learned so much about our natural surroundings. We’ve learned what’s what, which plants are weeds and what do we really need.” says Brandon. “It’s been a wonderful learning experience.”

With a year of restoration efforts under their belts, Michelle and Brandon connected Butterfly Pavilion with their contacts at the city of Northglenn and are now leading collaboration efforts to help restore Fox Run Open Space. Though it’s not the private canal behind their house, it’s a valuable start to getting restoration projects underway in their community. They’ll invite their neighbors to support the efforts and leverage their knowledge as Master Restoration Volunteers.

In reference to UPP, Michelle says, “We are loving it so far. I just love getting outside and working on something. Working from home, I don’t feel like we get outside enough anymore. I love nature, and pollinators, and flowers and plants, so being part of this work is perfect.” Brandon adds, “I also like how Butterfly Pavilion teams up with the city. Such a big focus is on educating the community, and it’s important to have those connections.”

The vision for the Urban Prairies Project is for Butterfly Pavilion to further evolve as a resource for municipalities seeking to restore their community spaces, and to continue empowering people to initiate their own restoration projects in their communities. Restoration work is so vital to our local ecosystems, and with all of us working together, we can make an incredible difference!

To learn more or get involved in our Urban Prairies Projects, visit our program webpage!