The Chatfield Farm - Denver Botanic Gardens

Denver Botanic
Gardens at Chatfield
A farm, a garden, and an open space
Becky Hufft
Manager of Conservation Programs
Chatfield
 700
acres in Jefferson County
 Owned by Army Corps of Engineers
 Managed by Denver Botanic Gardens
 Mission:
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The Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield inspires the public
to be good stewards of the environment by connecting
people to our past, present and future relationships with
native plants of the Rocky Mountain Region.
The Chatfield Team
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Larry Vickerman, Director
Departments include:
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Horticulture
Community Supporting Agriculture
Events
Operations
Education
Army Corps of Engineers
Chatfield Farm: Areas of Interest
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Historic Hildebrand Ranch Area
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restored summer kitchen
restored house
ranch buildings
CSA herb and cutting gardens
restored blacksmith shop
orchard
Deer Creek Discovery play and picnic areas, goats, chickens and mini-horses
6 Acres of small scale mixed-vegetables, CSA washstand and outdoor kitchen
Low-water, native and western display Gardens and 2.5 miles of wetland
ecosystem
14 acres of corn and pumpkins being grown for events and festivals
Private and Public event spaces
Chatfield Events
 Pumpkin
Festival
 Corn Maze
 Trail of Lights
 Weddings/Receptions/Meetings
 Concerts
What’s New?
These projects are still developing and gaining in
momentum and impact at Chatfield:
 The Butterfly House
 The Lavender Fields and Labyrinth
 The Farm Stands in Food Deserts Program Expansion
 Veterans to Farmers Partnership
 Education Development
 Restoration & Research
Butterfly House
 Butterflies
are managed Butterfly Pavilion
 Interior plants are maintained by Chatfield horticulturists
 Separate admission, education backpacks available
 Butterflies will range from native Colorado to species that
will do well with the controlled environment
The Lavender Fields at Chatfield
Over 14 Varieties
of Lavender
Farm Stands in Food Deserts
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Kaiser awarded 3 year grant to expand to all Denver Human
Services locations
Partnering with E.L.K and Bruce Randolph’s YMCA summer
programs to allow at-risk youth to volunteer at markets and to work
in the Market Garden at Chatfield to experience the full
growing/business cycles of agriculture for summer vocational
goals.
The Market Garden will be a ½ acre dedicated to small scale
agriculture for demonstration/education and will supply Farm
Stand demand.
The CSA (265 shareholders) is the foundation of the Farm Stand
project and will supply additional produce for outreach projects.
Vegetables, eggs, fruit, honey and more:
fresh from the farm to hungry communities in
need.
Veterans to Farmers
Veterans to Farmers will provide budding farmers a stipend to
work at Chatfield alongside staff and volunteers 15 hours a
week throughout the summer
Education at Chatfield
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New School Program
Ecosystems of Chatfield (Grades 2-5)
Fall Program
Pumpkin Patch School Program (Pre-K – grade 2)
Minicamps (Ages 6-12)
Fall Fun on the Farm, Cornucopia of Colors Summer
Summer Farm Camps (Ages 6-12)
Junior Farm Apprentice
Life on the Farm
Time Travelers
Discovery Backpack Programs (Grades 1-6)
Animals, like Chris Krabbenhoeft
Plants
Butterflies
Future Scout Backpacks
Questions? Call Lori Sinclair, Chatfield Educator, at 720-865-4355.
Restoration and Research
 Chatfield
Master Plan
 Weed mapping and management
 Floristic inventory
 Riparian restoration
 Graduate research
Chatfield Restoration Goals
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Protect desirable trees from beaver (tree painting) and
incorporate the impacts (both positive and negative) of future
beaver activity into the restoration plan
Remove Siberian elms, Russian olives and other noxious weeds
Burn, treat and till areas overrun with smooth brome
Restore native deciduous shrub component
Plant and seed native understory and riparian species,
especially those that would attract birds and other wildlife
Provide a hands on restoration opportunity for volunteers
Provide public education through interpretive signs
Weed Mapping & Management
 Scheduled
spraying & burning
 Weed pulls started in 2014 with volunteers
 Weed mapping started in 2014
Floristic Inventory
 Last
inventory in 1981
 10 site visits in 2014
 439 specimens
 Focus on 2015 will be riparian areas
Riparian Restoration
Riparian Restoration
 Hydrologic
improvements
 Removal of non-native trees (siberian elm, russian olive)
 Planting of native herbaceous species (seeds and
seedlings) to reduce smooth brome
 Cottonwood painting (beaver control)
 Demonstration garden
 Interpretation
 Long-term monitoring
Riparian Restoration - 2015
 Floristic
and geomorphology inventory of Deer Creek
 Include areas upstream (open space)
 Identify reference areas
 Riparian improvement plan development
 Collect seeds locally for restoration planting
Contact Information
 Becky
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rebecca.hufft@botanicgardens.org
720-865-3597
 Larry
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Hufft
Vickerman
vickerml@botanicgardens.org
303-973-3705