The sleepy plains of east Aurora are slated to receive a boost in botanical resources this year thanks to a new partnership with Denver Botanic Gardens.
Last month, the Gardens announced a new education partnership with the Plains Conservation Center, an Aurora-based nonprofit focused on educating visitors on the importance of preserving grasslands. The two organizations have worked together in the past, but the new collaboration will solidify resources meant to bolster the myriad education programs offered at PCC in Aurora.
“Denver Botanic Gardens is looking forward to advancing our relationship with the greater Aurora area and we are privileged to work alongside our colleagues at PCC,” said Brian Vogt, CEO of Denver Botanic Gardens. “With aligned missions and a powerful focus on children’s education, we are ready to build something very special together.”
All programming coordinated through the new partnership will take place at the PCC’s Aurora location at 21901 E. Hampden Ave. First opened as an education facility in 1949, PCC has operated under the City of Aurora’s umbrella since 1997 and is maintained by the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department. The organization watches over nearly 9,000 acres of land, the bulk of which sits south of Strasburg at a satellite location known as The West Bijou site.
Despite the newly solidified partnership, which officially took effect Jan. 1, the curriculum for the many education courses and programs will not be changed, according to Jeff Su, CEO of PCC. Su said that the new collaboration will simply build on the curriculum the PCC uses for schoolchildren, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and their families, by utilizing the newly available resources and staff provided by the Gardens.
“From a school’s point of view, the programs won’t be changing at all,” he said. “The only difference they’ll notice is that they’ll call the Gardens to book an event. But it will be the same great programming that they’ve had year after year after year. (The partnership) just allows us to provide support for the many already great programs that have been going on at the Plains Conservation Center since the late ‘60s.”
Increasing the Center’s reach is a primary goal of the new agreement, according to Su, who said that expanding the age groups the PCC serves is something the organization may look into in the coming years. Currently, the center serves pre-K through eighth grade students, as well as their parents. Those students comes from across the metro area and from as far away as Breckenridge, according to Su.
“We hope this helps to expand the programming,” Su said. “And we hope this helps connect people to grasslands and help them better understand the importance of grasslands in Colorado.”
He added that tapping into the Gardens’ vast network of other partner organizations will be helpful in spreading the word on PCC.
“Everyone that they have a connection with and a reach with will be able to hear and learn about our programs, so hopefully there will be schools and families who didn’t know about us before who can now find out about us,” Su said.
The PCC served about 10,000 children in 2015, and more than 20,000 people across all age groups in 2014, according to the organization’s website. The Gardens serve about 30,000 kids a year through on-site and in-classroom activities, according to Matt Cole, director of education for Denver Botanic Gardens.
“The Plains Conservation Center programs are really well known for being really, really good, and if we can find better ways to grow them, make them more sustainable, find ways to make the PCC even better, then I’m going to be very excited,” Cole said. “The real hope is that we can take something very good and grow its presence and the awareness of the plains in the natural world.”
Registration for programs coordinated through the new partnership begins Jan. 15.