$12,420 raised by 44 donors
25% complete
$50,000 Goal
It is no coincidence that November is the season of both fallen leaves and rotting fruit—of death and decay—and also the season of rosehips, seeds, generosity, and gratitude. Endings lead to new beginnings and breakdowns can become breakthroughs. Importantly though, we cannot skip over the decomposition, the loss, the grief inherent in any process of true transformation. We can, however, practice gratitude for the abundance of the earth and the kindness that grows out of hardship.
As Robin Wall Kimmerer reminds us in The Serviceberry, “The practice for dealing with abundance is to give it away.” Last weekend, PPAN joined our partners and hundreds of devoted native plant propagators at the NOCO Native Seed Swap to do just that. Many thousands of seeds—lovingly collected, cleaned, and labeled by hand—were joyfully exchanged, and will grow into thousands of new plants to be given away next year. Meanwhile, kids in Basalt, Colorado’s Pollinator Club inspired their Town Council to adopt its first Pollinator Proclamation. Later this month, hundreds of us will gather at the Colorado Pollinator Summit, which PPAN co-founded and helps to organize every year.
These local actions may seem insignificant in the face of a federal lurch towards dismantling the EPA and exploiting our country’s public lands for private profits, but you have to remember: we are powerful when we act together. What you do matters. What we do matters. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.
Here at PPAN we have our own ‘Project 2025’ laid out for next year (and beyond). We’ve got a decade of hard-won strategic knowledge on how to protect both people and pollinators under our belts, and are ready to expand our capacity significantly in 2025. We will continue to enact positive policy changes at the local and state levels—which will be more essential than ever in the years to come. We will work with all of you and our coalition partners to grow this grassroots movement for healthy communities. We will plant the future, literally, through our Habitat Grants program, seed swaps, plant giveaways, and volunteer programs.
People and Pollinators Action Network (PPAN) works across Colorado to promote sustainable land management practices, safeguard public health, and preserve biodiversity 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.
In 2014, a group of community activists concerned about public policy around pesticide use and the lack of accurate public information about pesticides, came together to work within Colorado for the protection of pollinators and human health.
They took on big issues statewide that threatened the health of pollinators, the sustainability of Colorado agriculture, and the wellbeing of Colorado communities, giving voice to pollinators for the first time in the history of the Colorado State Legislature. In our first year, we helped to establish lasting improvements to the oversight and regulation of pesticide application and laid a foundation for a more ambitious reform in the future. In our short history, we've:
• Successfully advocated for new rules for Colorado's Pesticide Applicators' Act, which governs the Pesticide Advisory Committee, to mandate the inclusion of beekeepers and organic farmers and to create requirements informing the public of actions taken against workers who violate pesticide application rules (2015)
• Created and continue to create training opportunities for government and commercial pesticide applicators (2015-present)
• 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).
• Helped to pass Pollinator Resolutions in 10 CO governments to date (City of Boulder, Boulder County, City of Lafayette, City of Longmont, City of Denver, Town of Berthoud, City of Cherry Hills Village, City of Loveland, Larimer County & Town of Carbondale)
• Recruited 2,400 individuals and businesses to take our pollinator-safe pledge to use pollinator-safe practices on their properties
• Co-created and co-host the annual Colorado Pollinator Summit (2015-2023) 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)
• Worked with Governors Hickenlooper and Polis to designate June as Colorado Pollinator Month (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023)
• Co-created (with the Clean Label Project) Colorado's first environmental health coalition focused on the environmental and human health nexus (2019)
• Introduced Colorado's first bill (SB20-189) to repeal state preemption of pesticide use-authorizing local governments to regulate pesticide use and application (2020)
• Co-hosted, with Beyond Pesticides, two organic turf pilot projects in the City of Longmont to transition conventionally-managed parks to organic (2019)
• Launched the CO Environmental Health (2019) and Native Landscaping Coalitions (2020)
• Championed and helped to pass the new Colorado Pollinator License Plate bill (2021)-sales of which will support vital pollinator conservation and advocacy programs across the state
• Introduced Colorado’s first omnibus Pollinator & Human Health bill (SB22-131), which sought solutions to protect children’s health, preserve pollinator biodiversity, and allow local communities to make decisions about pesticide use (2022)
• Championed and helped to pass Colorado’s first Native Pollinating Insects Protection Study bill (SB22-199), which will be critical in making informed conservation decisions about the protection of Colorado's native pollinators (2022)
• Launched our Protect our Pollinators Habitat Fund, a small grants program that awards money to support the creation of new, safe, pollinator habitat in the state, with an eye toward prioritizing projects that have a justice and equity component (among other criteria) (2023)
Organization name
People & Pollinators Action Network
other names
PPAN, People & Pollinators Action Network
2014
Tax id (EIN)
47-2260229
Category
Environment
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
PO Box 355Boulder County, CO, US
CO, US
Jefferson County, CO, US
Arapahoe County, CO, US
Larimer County, CO, US