Denver Botanic Gardens is working to improve ecosystem health and connections between people, plants, and soil at our 700-acre farm. In this half-day field trip, participants will see different techniques and experiments highlighting restoration at different scales, from backyards to larger open spaces and considering genes to community level processes. Participants will see a multi-year small-scale prairie restoration and several experiments assessing different seeding and planting techniques, local adaptation for seed sourcing, community composition, and site preparation.

Recommended for trip: long-pants, sturdy closed-toed shoes, broad-brimmed hat, sunscreen, and drinking water.

Detailed Description

Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms is a 700-acre property about with a diversity of functions including sustainable farming practices, restoration research, riparian system with restoration and active beavers, prairie habitat, and agrovoltaics. Participants will be guided to different areas of the property to see efforts to improve restoration techniques. After getting an overview of the site, participants will be guided on trails through the property to view the different experiments and speak with researchers and land managers responsible for each.

At the species level, participants will learn how we are assessing morphological and genetic differences across multiple populations of the same species in common garden experiments to understand the importance of seed sourcing for large-scale restoration efforts. At the site level, participants will learn how we are conducting experiments with low-cost seed mixes and sowing mulches to develop methods for establishing beautiful and ecologically functional vegetation in urban areas.

These experiments aim to develop resilient plant communities with high vegetation coverage, a long and vibrant blooming season, and minimal maintenance requirements such as weeding and watering. Ideally, our methods can be applied to a variety of settings including turfgrass conversion projects, public parks, pedestrian trails, and roadway medians. At the community level, participants will see how we are fine-tuning approaches to determine appropriate species mixes, site preparation techniques and planting techniques to increase native biodiversity in both irrigated and non-irrigated systems.