Get Involved
We welcome your input and involvement in our strategy work.
Become a Working Partner
Whether it is making seed collections, joining us on a research assignment or contributing knowledge to the plant list, there are many ways to help. Please let us know how you would like to be involved.
Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative
Friends of the Dillon Ranger District
Join the Colorado Alpine EcoFlora Project
As part of the first objective of the Strategy, to understand and document alpine plant diversity, we are interested in knowing where alpine plants are, and when they are blooming. To this end we developed the Colorado Alpine EcoFlora project, accomunity-science botany project powered by iNaturalist, the free, easy-to-use nature identification app. The two golas of this project are 1. Increase awareness of and appreciation for alpine plants in Colorado; and 2. Obtain research-grade observational data from around the state that will help us understand distributions of alpine plants.
Explore Our Internships
The next generation of horticulturists, conservation stewards, biologists, and public garden professionals can find hands-on learning opportunities and support from our staff and partner organizations.
Meet Our Team
This work is made possible through the efforts of many people across institutions!
Emily Griffoul
Alpine Strategy Coordinator & Conservation Scientist at Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
Emily joined Betty Ford Alpine Gardens 2020 as the new Conservation Scientist. She has worked on ecological and conservation research all over the West, but fell in love with the unique beauty of alpine plants and the magic of Colorado.
Emily is leading the implementation of the North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Alpine Plant Conservation, a blueprint developed by the Gardens to promote understanding and protection of vulnerable alpine species and habitats through ex-situ collections, surveys and mapping of alpine areas and rare plants, collaborations with partners in other gardens and federal agencies, and public engagement.
Alexandra Seglias
Seed Conservation Research Associate at Denver Botanic Gardens
Alex studies seed germination mechanisms of native species to understand ecological dynamics and response to climate change. This informs both in situ and ex situ conservation, including, but not limited to, reintroduction and seed banking practices. Her main tasks include seed collection, with a focus on rare and threatened taxa, maintenance of the Gardens’ seed collections, including viability testing, and various research projects focused primarily on rare alpine species.
Mike Kintgen
Curator of Alpine Collections, Denver Botanic Gardens
Mike has been with Denver Botanic Gardens officially since 2004 and as a volunteer since the mid-1990s. While much of his work focuses on alpine and montane floras worldwide, he works with all aspects of temperate flora adapted to the Rocky Mountain region. His horticultural exploration has taken him to Argentina, Morocco, throughout western North America, and to most of the high mountains areas of Europe. Mike is a popular lecturer locally, nationally and internationally. Publications include “Steppes” and many articles in horticultural journals and gardening periodicals.
Jen Toews
Assistant Manager, Plant Records at Denver Botanic Gardens
Contact Us
Alpine Strategy
522 S. Frontage Rd. E.
Vail, CO 81657
(970) 476-0103
emily@bettyfordalpinegardens.org