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Please Donate!
Do you support our community action for environmental results? Please consider a financial donation today!
We Got Stuff Done in 2011!
1,695 volunteers
9,711 volunteer hours
172 trees planted
379 energy audits
6,981 CFLS installed
27,261 residents engaged
52 businesses engaged
1,750 pounds of trash picked up
340 flats of vegetables planted
93 acres of open space improved
4.4 miles of trails built
2679 tons of CO2 emissions avoided
The Green Team is Available to Help with Projects!
The Groundwork Denver Green Team youth are gearing up for a busy summer. They will be building gardens, planting trees, cleaning up neighborhoods and improving parks. If you need 10 strong backs and great attitudes for a community improvement project in one of Denver's lower-income neighborhoods, contact Shane to apply for the Green Team's help!
Donate Good Bikes!
Do you have a gently used mountain bike or cruiser that just sits in your garage? Donate it to the Green Team! The Green Teamers use bikes to get from job to job, cutting down their own carbon footprints and getting fit in the process. They will give your bike a great home!
Strive to Not Drive
for Earth Day
We'll be working with local businesses in the 32nd and Lowell area again this year to encourage people to Strive to Not Drive by parking their cars and walking, biking and taking the bus. If you live in NW Denver, look for your Strive to Not Drive Buck, or contact Julie to have one emailed.
Free Home Energy Assessments!
If you live in Denver, contact Elysa for a free energy assessment! Rebates from Xcel Energy and the City of Denver can reduce the cost of insulation by up to 60%. Now is a great time to insulate because it will make your house much cooler and more comfortable in summer.
  
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Platte Farm Open Space: One Step Closer to Reality
 Over four years ago, Groundwork Denver and a resident steering committee started working together to turn six acres of vacant, dilapidated land into a wheelchair accessible, environmentally-sustainable natural area for the Globeville neighborhood. The newly named Platte Farm Open Space started as a vision, progressed to landscape design, and is now in the final stages of land negotiations. With the help of pro bono attorneys from Hogan Lovells, Groundwork Denver is working out the details of land ownership and management. The Denver Office of Economic Development just awarded Groundwork Denver a grant to conduct a professional environmental review, title work and a survey, bringing the project one step closer to reality.
"Why Can't We Have Clean Water?!"
 If you've been around Shane lately, you've probably heard him ask that question. Urban rivers in Denver and all across the country are polluted. In Denver rivers, pollutants include E.coli, arsenic, mercury and others. To begin addressing this problem, Groundwork Denver is kicking off a holistic watershed planning effort in one of the South Platte River's major tributaries, Bear Creek. Bear Creek starts on Mount Evans. It is clean until it hits the urban areas, about eight miles upstream from the South Platte River, where it becomes "impaired" with E.coli, or as Shane will tell you, "poop". Over the next 24 months, we'll be conducting technical assessments, educating residents and other stakeholders and brainstorming about strategies to clean up Bear Creek. Much of Bear Creek is surrounded by beautiful natural areas, providing space for urban wildlife and birds, and is a place for youth and adults to connect with nature. We want clean water too!
Volunteering is More than Just a "Feel-Good" Experience
Almost 1,700 people donated 9,711 hours of volunteer service to Groundwork Denver and the communities that we served in 2011. Volunteers planted trees, collected native seeds, installed CFLs and fixed bike tires. They entered data, made phone calls and provided us with professional services. We couldn't succeed without the volunteers. But, what to the volunteers get out of it in addition to feeling good about making a meaningful contribution to the community and the environment?
We asked, and this is what they said:
a. Volunteering helped me develop or learn new interpersonal skills.
b. I gained skills or knowledge that might serve me in other capacities.
c. I connected with others who could provide future opportunities.
d. I gained a deeper understanding about environmental issues.
e. I gained a deeper understanding of issues facing Denver's neighborhoods.
How Much is 1,827 Tons of CO2 Emissions Anyway?
Rolling a boulder up a hill: the proverbial futile task. But these days, anything's doable. To wit, the 21-foot tall, 340-ton rock quarried 60 miles outside of Los Angeles that took over five years in planning to deliver to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Thousands of Angelinos lined the route to witness the trip of the L.A. Rock.
Why did "Levitated Mass" create such excitement? Perhaps it's the lure of human imagination making the seemingly impossible happen. Kind of like what Groundwork Denver is doing to tons of CO2 emissions. In 2011, our Porch Bulb Project alone switched out 5,076 incandescents with CFLs, offsetting 1,827 tons of CO2 emissions over the life of those bulbs ? over five L.A. Rocks! While they drove a 295-foot-by-27-foot vehicle with 196 wheels requiring a crew of 12 (burning who knows how much gas), we partnered with 976 volunteers over 3,416 hours on foot or bike. While they zig-zagged 100+ miles through 22 cities over 11 nights, we were in 31 communities across Colorado conducting 41 canvasses.
So check out the L.A. Rock, and when you do, think about how last year we made over five of those rocks disappear in CO2 emissions. Futile task? Pshaw.
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