Urban Ecology

Many of our current urban ecology projects are happening along the High Line Canal greenway, a 71-mile-long recreational and ecological corridor that passes within one mile of 350,000 Front Range residents. Our documentation of plant and pollinator (bee) diversity reveals that this single greenspace harbors nearly 20 percent of the plant species found in Colorado and a rare species of bee. We are also exploring how ecological enhancements to the Canal—including the implementation of green stormwater infrastructure and a large-scale tree-planting campaign—will shape the Canal’s ecology going forward.  

Another project involves using various restoration techniques that can be easily implemented on golf courses. Golf courses often have large areas that remain out-of-play and can serve as native plant and wildlife habitats. Our goal is to determine which seed-bed preparation and seeding techniques provide quality results with an economy of resource inputs.