Metro Denver Nature Alliance

The Metro Denver Nature Alliance (Metro DNA) is a dynamic, inclusive, and growing coalition of non-profit, government, research, and private sector partners working to make the seven-county Denver region a thriving place for people and nature. Through shared visioning and cross-sector collaboration, Metro DNA works for a future when:

·        Metro Denver residents have equitable access to parks, open spaces, and other kinds of nature meaningful to them

·        Metro Denver communities integrate nature to promote healthy, active residents

·        The metro Denver region protects, restores, and stewards natural systems that support people, wildlife, and ecological functions

Current Steering Committee members include staff from: City of Westminster, cityWILD, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Regional Council of Governments, Denver Zoo, Environmental Learning for Kids, Great Outdoors Colorado, Mile High Connects, National Wildlife Federation, Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute, the Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Forest Service, and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado.

Metro DNA’s mission is to facilitate an inclusive regional alliance that enhances the alignment and impact of nature-based efforts to ensure more equitable access to nature and healthier people, communities, and nature. Metro DNA emerged from a shared belief that a coordinated alliance can achieve more than the sum of its parts. By bringing nature-based efforts into greater alignment and facilitating integrated, long-term strategies, partners promote more equitable access to parks and greater prioritization of nature in land use decisions.

Metro DNA performs three mutually reinforcing roles:

·        Facilitating collaboration and alignment among the many partners working to advance healthy people, communities, and nature.

·        Championing nature-based efforts by publicizing partners’ work, showcasing their successes, and raising public awareness and support for nature, broadly defined.

·        Building partner capacity by promoting resource sharing and leveraging joint activities.