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Here are some of our recent successes with helping to create and preserve pollinator habitats in Colorado. We recently championed a state resolution designating I-76 as Colorado’s first pollinator highway! HABITAT CREATION & PRESERVATION POLLINATOR HABITATS Here are some of our recent successes with helping to create and preserve pollinator habitats in Colorado. Championed a state resolution designating I-76 as Colorado’s first pollinator highway (2017) and launched the pilot planting project in 2018. Our partnership with CDOT continues with new pollinator plantings along Hwy 119 (2021). Co-created and co-host the annual Colorado Pollinator Summit (2015-2020) with Denver Botanic Gardens and The Butterfly Pavilion; and co-lead the Colorado Pollinator Network Worked with the Department of Natural Resources to spearhead a new, comprehensive pollinator policy for state lands (2018) Recruited 2,000+ individuals and businesses to take our pollinator-safe pledge to use pollinator-safe practices on their properties JOIN OUR EFFORTS SIGN THE PLEDGE

POLLINATOR GARDENS IN DENVER POLLINATOR GARDENS IN THE CITY OF DENVER Visit these city pollinator garden beds to see Monarchs and other pollinators in Denver. Let us know if you have any to add, or if you'd like to volunteer with us to help weed/plant and maintain these pollinator gardens. VOLUNTEER WITH US » DENVER PARKS VOLUNTEERS PHOTO GALLERY Want to volunteer with us to help take care of pollinator gardens in our public spaces? Reach out to us to get on our volunteer list »

VOLUNTEER IN PARKS Volunteer to support no-spray community spaces throughout the state! Colorado’s pesticide-free parks thrive because of people like you. Volunteers help keep these spaces healthy and safe by pulling weeds, planting native flowers, and supporting habitats where pollinators can flourish—without harmful chemicals. Whether you have an hour or a whole afternoon, your time makes a real difference. Come get your hands in the dirt and be part of a growing effort to protect the parks we all love. Volunteer in Denver Parks Volunteer in Golden Parks Volunteer in Eldorado Canyon State Park

People and Pollinators Action Network (PPAN) offers this guide for best practices for a pollinator friendly habitat across Colorado. POLLINATOR SAFE COMMUNITIES GUIDE GUIDE FOR POLLINATOR SAFE COMMUNITIES People and Pollinators Action Network (PPAN) works across Colorado to promote sustainable agricultural practices, safeguard public health, and improve our environment by fostering a strong movement to build community awareness, change policies and support best practices in the use of chemical pesticides and pollinator friendly habitat management. Our vision is to make Colorado a pollinator haven—a place where bees, bats and butterflies will thrive. DOWNLOAD GUIDE PDF How are we creating change? Work with government officials and state agencies to adopt pollinator friendly policies and practices at the local and state level. Promote and connect widespread pollinator safe habitats by creating Pollinator Safe Communities. Work with businesses, farmers and beekeepers to encourage pollinator safe product sales and practices. Educate and train residential, commercial, agricultural and public land managers to find ways to protect pollinators and promote healthy habitat. Serve as a resource for anyone interested in creating pollinator safe habitat. What's at stake? Pollinators, both native and introduced species, are essential to overall ecosystem health and to agricultural productivity. Protecting pollinators can be challenging in the face of habitat loss along with climate change and pesticide misapplication and overuse. All of these issues contribute to lowered immune systems making pollinators more susceptible to pests and pathogens. Loss of these essential creatures to our biodiversity threatens ecological stability around the world. Creating Pollinator Safe Communities People and Pollinators Action Network is encouraging land owners and managers to create pollinator refuges by converting backyards and other properties to pollinator safe habitat. The message is straightforward – plant organic plants/seeds and eliminate the use of pesticides on the landscape and speak to others about doing the same. Safe havens for pollinators mean that there is healthy food and shelter for our pollinating wildlife. Through education we can encourage people to change their land management practices and become more active on this issue. By joining others that are doing the same we can change Colorado one garden or property at a time. Dear Pollinator Safe Community Leader, Thank you for making a commitment to support pollinators! It is because of people like you that we are able to create habitat and change the way people think about and interact with pesticides. Neighbor to neighbor education and outreach is an effective tool in a time when residents feel powerless in the face of large-scale environmental threats. Pollinator Safe Leaders are our strength around Colorado: you reach out to neighbors, community members, business owners and leaders, collect pollinator safe pledges and employ outreach strategies that work best for you. You don’t have to know all the answers or know every person who lives in your neighborhood or community. You don’t have to do all the work yourself. Being a Pollinator Safe Leader requires little more than dedication, drive and a passion to grow the pollinator-safe movement in Colorado. This Guide includes a copy of the Pollinator Safe Pledge and ideas for conducting outreach and education in your community. Sign up to be a Pollinator Safe Leader and to receive resources and tips for creating a pollinator haven here: BE A POLLINATOR SAFE LEADER Overview: Steps to Creating a Pollinator Safe Community Designate a Pollinator Safe Leader or gather a team that would like to build safe habitat in their communities. Set short- and long-term goals to measure success. A short-range goal could be holding an educational meeting/gathering on your block to explain the importance of providing blooming plants for wildlife throughout the growing season and reducing and eliminating pesticide use. A long-term goal could be establishing a block of pollinator safe properties. Provide resources to the community regarding pollinator safe, region appropriate plantings and natural management strategies. Ask neighbors or other property managers to sign PPAN’s Pollinator Safe Pledge . Pledgers can choose to have their property displayed on a public map . Watching habitat expand is inspiring! Display a pollinator habitat yard sign to indicate that a pledge has been signed and to spark conversations with neighbors. Determine what educational strategies work best in your community (neighborhood presentations/tips, plant exchanges, kid-related activities, community plantings, partnering with businesses, etc.) Continue to spread the message by choosing at least three activities per year from suggested activities included below and in this Guide . Speak with neighborhood organizations about creating pollinator habitat , nurseries about providing organic plants and local leaders about what can be accomplished city-wide by using pollinator safe land management practices. Let us know about your successes and challenges. Send stories, photos or videos to be shared in the PPAN Enews or on social media. Suggested Activities Ask community members to sign PPAN’s Pollinator Safe Pledge (print out copies of the Pledge from this guide or direct people to sign the Pledge on the PPAN website here. Aim to collect ten new pledges each year. Pass paper pledges back to PPAN so pollinator safe properties can be displayed on the website map. Watch the habitat areas grow! Sign up new Pollinator Safe Leaders here . Join a PPAN local chapter. Host an informational gathering or potluck for community members to learn more about the issue. Provide resources such as plant lists and sources of safe plants and seeds. Ask people to display the Colorado Pollinator Habitat sign . It’s a good conversation starter! Contact PPAN to receive habitat signs for a suggested donation of ten dollars. Speak with local and state leaders about the issue. Host a pollinator safe plant and/or seed exchange in the spring or fall. Host a pollinator themed event. Show a film about the importance of pollinators. Speak to local nurseries about supplying organic and native plants/seeds and alternatives to pesticides. Let PPAN know if you are aware of a local business that has a pollinator safe philosophy and we’ll add them to our list of pollinator-safe businesses. If you are a resident of a Homeowner’s Association speak with the board and/or land managers about their current landscaping practices and your concern for human and pollinator health. Host a natural lawn care management workshop. It can be challenging to convince homeowners and other property managers that the landscape can be managed without the use of harmful pesticides. Providing simple steps for success can support the transition away from synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use. Encourage property owners/managers to transition from turf to pollinator habitat. Track the amount of turf removed in your community and number of pollinator safe plants added. Host a PPAN educational table at a local event. Host a native bee house-building workshop. Be a citizen scientist! Organize a neighborhood pollinator bio blitz and/or use the iNaturalist app to identify and track pollinators species found in yards and communities. This is a fun and educational way to learn more about the diversity of pollinator species and encourage some friendly competition amongst neighbors. Track increased diversity of pollinating wildlife as pollinator habitat grows! DOWNLOAD GUIDE PDF

Senator Steve Fenberg recently introduced our bill to restore control to local governments in regards to the use and application of pesticides. This bill empowers communities to respond in a timely manner to pesticide-related risks to public health or to the environment. PESTICIDE PREEMPTION REPEAL BILL PESTICIDE PREEMPTION REPEAL BILL Senator Steve Fenberg recently introduced our bill to restore control to local governments in regards to the use and application of pesticides. This bill empowers communities to respond in a timely manner to pesticide-related risks to public health or to the environment. Read the bill below:

We can only change the trajectory for pollinators (and our planet!) by making sure that people are aware of their importance and how we can protect them. EDUCATION AND COLLABORATION EDUCATION We can only change the trajectory for pollinators (and our planet!) by making sure that people are aware of their importance and how we can protect them. It can be a complicated issue, but by working together we can find solutions that will help ensure that pollinators have safe and healthy habitat to keep our ecosystems and our agricultural systems working well. People and Pollinators Action Network engages in education through speaking at events, tabling and participation at conferences. PPAN volunteers visit classrooms, neighborhood associations, agricultural organizations, HOA’s, colleges, businesses, local governments and more to talk about ways to work together to protect pollinators. CONTACT US TO PARTNER COLLABORATION We also work collaboratively with other organizations doing similar work to be as effective and efficient as possible. In 2016, PPAN co-sponsored the first Colorado Pollinator Summit with partners from the Butterfly Pavilion , Colorado Beekeepers Association , the Bees Waggle and other groups. That first summit was attended by over 150 people representing over 80 organizations and agencies across the state. In 2017, we co-sponsored the second Summit at the Denver Botanic Gardens hosting Scott Hoffman Black from the Xerces Society as one of our keynote speakers. From these two summits, over a dozen organizations have joined together to create the Colorado Pollinator Network. PPAN is proud to be a partner in the Network which will continue to organize the Colorado Pollinator Summit and take on other collaborative projects. The Colorado Pollinator Summit is a powerful tool for achieving big gains for people and pollinators. Uniting participants around overlapping goals and visions, the Summit harnesses the power of working together and builds capacity for information and resource sharing. COLLABORATE WITH US MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR YARD! SIGN THE POLLINATOR-SAFE PLEDGE

PPAN’s Pollinator Habitat small grants program offers financial and educational resources to community organizations, businesses, governments, schools, tribes, public housing, and other institutions to support the development of healthy pollinator habitat. PROTECT OUR POLLINATORS HABITAT FUND More Plates = More Plants = More Pollinators In the program's first 4 years, public pollinator demonstration gardens across Colorado have blossomed thanks to each plate on the road. 96 $165K 65 Projects Funded Acres PPAN’s Pollinator Habitat small grants program offers financial and educational resources to community organizations, businesses, governments, schools, farms, Indigenous Nations, public housing, and other institutions to support the development of healthy pollinator habitat. Through collaboration with pollinator and habitat experts, we provide support to successful applicants. This program is backed by the Colorado Pollinator License Plate Fund and other designated donations. The primary criteria for grants include the use of funds to develop, expand, restore, or protect pollinator habitats, within agreed upon parameters. We prioritize projects that: are located within marginalized communities; maximize community outreach; increase biodiversity; and that have matching funds or existing capacity to implement. Grants range from $500 to $200 0 The grant cycle launches in the late winter with award decisions advised by our collaborative team of experts. Grant recipients will be expected to provide a simple report and project photos at two and three years of implementation and to collaborate with us to tell the project story. Please read on for additional criteria and funding requirements. APPLICATIONS CLOSED GRANT CYCLE 2026 Grant Cycle 2026 grants have been awarded . Please join our email list to be alerted to 2027's application. CRITERIA PREFERENCES: Justice & Equity component – loss of biodiversity disprop o rtionately impacts margi nalized communities Potential to increase local biodiversity Ability to link disrupted ecosystems Maximizes community education, collaboration, and engagement Sufficient funding and capacity to implement/maintain Geographical/regional diversity Substantial/diverse project audience Applications Will Open January 2027 Grants range from $500 to $2,000 Requirements for Funding The project must be located in Colorado The project must have an educational component and have visibility to the community Design must prioritize the use of regionally-adapted western native species (exceptions possible with approval) Site must be prepared and maintained organically (without the use of synthetic herbicides or other chemical pesticides) Site must incorporate PPAN's pollinator habitat sign Grantee must submit expense receipts (all at one time) by the end of the grant's fiscal year Grantee must submit a simple report for years two and three of habitat establishment (no more than one page) Grantee must be willing to share the story of habitat creation and photos (PPAN will have the right to use stories and photos in public communications) PPAN is pleased to have representatives of Audubon Rockies, the Butterfly Pavilion, and CSU Extension serving on the habitat fund review committee. Protect Our Pollinators Habitat Fund Map This interactive map illuminates the vital network of pollinator sanctuaries established by recipients of the fund. Navigating the map is as simple as a click, offering a journey through diverse landscapes where pollinators thrive. Click on any circle to learn about the grantees and their vital contributions to pollinator conservation efforts. Each location reveals not only coordinates, but corresponds to the scale of the pollinator habitat. Join us in celebrating the collaborative efforts to safeguard pollinator habitats and promote connectivity across landscapes! 2025 grantees to be added soon! Thank you to one of our amazing volunteers, Devin Jacobs, for the creation and maintenance of this map. APPLY Since the launch of PPAN's Protect Our Pollinators Habitat Fund in March of 2023, we have supported 96 different organizations in their efforts to create pollinator-safe habitat, awarding over $165,000 in grants. This program has helped establish over 65 acres of organic, pollinator-safe habitat! 2026 Habitat Fund Grantees Adventure Acres City of Thornton FrontLine Farming Growing Gardens Manna Durango Rio Grande Farm Park Scott's Bees STEM Launch K-8 The Kiva Center Boys & Girls Clubs of Pueblo County Colibri Creative Conservation Solutions Foothills Unitarian Here & Now Food Shed Manitou Springs Garden Club Sand Creek Greenway Speedwell Farm & Gardens SustainEd Farms Town of Ophir Children's Farms in Action Crested Butte Botanic Gardens Girl Scout Troop 77808 Jovial Concepts Poudre Global Academy Ruby Hill Neighbors Salvation Army Vail Extension Service Tenderfoot Family and Child Center Upper San Juan Library District Villa Park RNO Green Team Wild Ones Front Range Chapter 2025 Habitat Fund Grantees Boulder Bee Lab CONO Children's Farms in Action Cure Organic Farm City of Fort Collins Parks Department Friends of Coal Creek FrontLine Farming Homeward Alliance Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership Janniebird Farm GES Coalition Jewell Elementary School Manna Durango Rocky Mountain Prep Mancos Conservation District Sand Creek Greenway Montessori Children's House of Denver Simply Bee Conservation Sprout City Farms Thornton DPR Crucible Center for Arts & Wellbeing Town of Ophir Salvation Army Vail Extension Service Vargas Property Services Village Exchange Center Walking Mountains 2024 Habitat Fund Grantees AATPC Denver Park Trust Cactus Valley Elementary School First Universalist Church of Denver Children's Farms in Action Focus Points Family Resource Center Friends of Coal Creek Denver Dream Center Mountain Family Center Plenty Heirloom Farms Gunnison Conservation District Hebrew Educational Alliance Honey Moon Mesa Apiaries Salvation Army Vail Service Extension Harlequin's Gardens Kelly Bull Permaculture Design National Wildlife Federation Project: Elevate Sproutin' Up Unity Church of Fort Collins Simply Bee Conservation Town of Estes Park Stiles African American Heritage Gardens 2023 Habitat Fund Grantees Luceo Images Garden of Oz Frasier Retirement Community KC Volunteers Centaur Village West HOA Eco-Thrift Poudre Global Academy Garden Crew Lakewood United Methodist Church Eldorado Mountain Yoga Ashram CO NPS & Loveland Parks & Rec Suelo Bueno LLC & Pollinator Advocates Sister Carmen Community Center Marisol Health Growing Gardens YMCA of Northern Colorado Ollins Farms Town of Superior Parks & Rec City of Golden Weedbusters The Protect Pollinators Habitat Fund is supported by these generous donors & sponsors, as well as the Protect Pollinators Colorado License Plate: Donna Baker-Breningstall and the Sunny Bug Farmette , and corporate partner, Black Hills Energy . The Sunny Bug Grant honors the life, creativity, and generosity of Donna's daughter, Sunia, who loved plants, pollinators, birds, and nature, and working alongside her mother—a Colorado Master Gardener, teacher, social changemaker, and philanthropist—in their Denver urban farmette. Learn About Sunia & The Sunny Bug Grantees Black Hills Energy is the local utility for many rural Colorado Counties, and reached out to PPAN to support the creation of pollinator habitat in their ratepayer areas.

There are many factors contributing to our concern for pollinators as well as for people. Join us to help preserve biodiversity! Everyone can make a difference. KEY PROBLEMS Why are we concerned and need to take action? There are many factors contributing to our concern for pollinators as well as for people. Most of the challenges for the health of pollinators also affect people and in fact, the potential decline of pollinators has direct consequences for human survival as well. Let’s first start with - what are pollinators? They are a broad set of species – mostly insects, but also birds, bats and other species – that are responsible for a great deal of plant reproduction. Many plant species require an external organism to move pollen from the male part of the plant to the female part to reproduce. This organism is often an insect that feeds on the pollen and, in the process, moves some of that pollen around, enabling the plant to reproduce. The most well-known and iconic species that perform this service for plants are the honey bee and various butterflies, especially the monarch. However, there are thousands of native bees, many hundreds of species of butterflies and many other insects and birds that also do this both in our agricultural production and in our natural ecosystems. Honey bees are typically managed in hives by people and in the U.S., and are an introduced species from Europe. The other species are typically less social and nest in various types of locations and are not usually managed by people. Often this distinction between their “lifestyles” is framed as managed pollinators that can be thought of as more similar to livestock versus native ones that are wild. With that basic introduction, what are we worried about? Biodiversity on our Planet Biodiversity is key to healthy ecosystems on our planet. When we talk about biodiversity, we’re talking about having enough varied species of living beings: from the tiniest cellular organisms to insects to plants, birds, mammals and humans. We rely on this diversity to make a healthy and interconnected web of species. We need this diversity for ecosystem health as well human health, yet it is often threatened by multiple factors: Monocultures – think about big green lawns with no flowers or big agricultural systems that have one crop covering thousands of acres and only blooms for a short period of time or in some cases not permitted to bloom at all. Read more about monocultures » Habitat loss – when we develop areas for human habitation, agriculture or for large business needs, that habitat is not available for the species that used to live there. Food sources disappear and these species cannot find enough to eat. Pesticide misuse, overuse and unnecessary use – when we eliminate species that we consider pests, we reduce biodiversity. This is tricky since insect pests or invasive weeds can negatively affect agriculture, yet when we use pesticides to address the issue, we may be eliminating desirable species as well. And those “bad” species are generally food for something out there as well. Pesticide overuse can apply to agricultural practices, to homeowner usage, or to public lands management. Climate change – Our climate is changing. Temperatures are rising, ice caps are melting. These temperature changes impact available food sources for many pollinators and the ability of species to live in certain areas. For instance, if plants bloom earlier in the year due to warmer climates and insect pollinators have not yet emerged from their winter nests it leads to a mismatch in available ecological services. BIODIVERSITY All of these pressures on pollinator species can combine to have implications for their health. Pesticides can affect neurological functioning and their ability to navigate. Not enough food can make them weak and lessen their immune response. With respect to honeybees especially, pests such as varroa mites and the diseases they can carry are more likely to run rampant when immune systems are compromised and colonies are weak. All of these species might be able to withstand one of these pressures, but together, it is a critical time for their health. FOOD PROUCTION How do we address this potentially devastating combination of challenges, in the context of our current society, to protect both pollinator and human health? Our Food Production Systems Our agricultural systems have changed a great deal in the past 50 plus years. Where we used to have a significant number of smaller family farms with crop diversity, we often have large-scale industrial agriculture. While this may be a more efficient way to farm, it isn’t necessarily best for the environment nor does is necessarily provide increased yields or healthier food. Pesticide use has also increased dramatically. This includes insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and rodenticides. While pesticides are often considered essential to farming, the results can cause environmental damage. A relatively new class of insecticides are the neonicotinoids. These are systemic pesticides that can cause an entire plant to have the pesticide within it – leaves, pollen, etc. While the pesticide is intended for certain species, it does not necessarily discriminate and increasingly, studies show that there are both direct and long-term unintended consequences for non-target species such as bees, butterflies and birds. Herbicide use has increased, especially with the prevalence of GMO crops that are “roundup ready”. For example, more than 90% of corn grown in the US is genetically modified in this way. This allows farmers to eliminate weeds with broad spraying practices because the crops are not susceptible to the herbicide application. Unfortunately, some weeds are developing resistance and more critically, new scientific studies are showing that ingestion of herbicides can have a negative effect on pollinators as well. Millions of acres in the U.S. are covered with crops that are planted with seeds coated with neonicotinoids. These seeds make the entire plant potentially poisonous. However, these coated seeds are not regulated by the E.P.A as a pesticide. This is true for corn, soybeans and many other large monoculture crop production. All of these crops are widely used in our food systems and for animal feed so the pesticides are an integral part of our human food intake. Another big issue is the lack of scientific research on so called tank mixes. This applies to both agricultural applications where multiple chemicals are mixed together to make it more efficient to apply – for example, a tank mix with a fungicide, insecticide and herbicide all in one application. Chemical mixes are also widely available over the counter in home use products such as many all in one type yard care solutions. Most research is done on single chemicals, not on how these chemicals react when mixed together and create a synergistic result. Our food production systems are dominated by industrial agriculture and the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers and monocultures which many believe we cannot live without. We have also changed our overall ecosystems with various practices so that insect pests and invasive and noxious weeds can get out of control. How do we find balance and pull back from these environmentally destructive practices while also maintaining food production? A GOOD READ... Human Health: Kids and Pesticides DOWNLOAD PDF »

SUPPORT OUR WORK Your support makes all the difference in our ability to protect pollinators and public health in Colorado — thank you! OTHER WAYS TO GIVE Order Protect Pollinator License Plates Mail a check to PO Box 355 Niwot, CO 80544 Become a business sponsor Buy Books! 10% of Your Purchase Goes Directly to PPAN. Ask your employer to match your gift through Benevity, NPO Connect, or other matching gift platform. Gift stock or other assets Planned, DAF, or IRA Giving Questions? emily@peopleandpollinators.org

VOLUNTEER IN GOLDEN PARKS Volunteer to support no-spray community spaces! Did you know that Golden opened its first of three pesticide-free neighborhood parks in 2022 ? DeLong Park, at 395 23rd St. (3 blocks NE of our Natural Grocers), is an organic pilot park . This means that it is an experiment in a non-toxic management style by the City of Golden Parks Department. We consider this a very positive step, and are grateful that the parks director agreed to attempt this project. (The city of Boulder has been managing their parks without pesticides since the 1990’s so this is very feasible!) However, a big difference between Boulder and Golden is that Boulder has a robust volunteer program which they depend on to manage weeds in their parks. We are hoping to recruit some of you to assist with volunteer weed duty to make this park a success ! If we succeed as a community in managing this pilot park without pesticides we can look forward to more organically managed parks in Golden, so we hope that you will take this opportunity to connect with your fellow local PPAN members to build a strong network to make Golden a healthier place for people and pollinators! If you are interested in volunteering, please submit THIS FORM to help us track participation, and COMPLETE THIS WAIVER to bring with you on volunteer days. We can't wait to see you out there! JOIN THE GOLDEN VOLUNTEER CREW DeLong Park will host drop-in volunteers every Tuesday morning starting at 10am this Spring and 8am this Summer. The best way to stay ahead of weekly plans is to join the email list: protectinggolden@gmail.com Help us turn this pilot park into a permanent one! Keep our communities and pollinators safe from pesticides!

E-Newsletter Signup Fill out the form below to get added to the distribution list for the monthly e-Newsletter (we usually send two per month) containing updates on our work, current news and cutting-edge research on pollinator conservation, expert spotlights, book recommendations, and event notifications! This is the best way to stay informed about our most up-to-date happenings! If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out our volunteer form here »