Loveland Nonprofit Grows Native Plants for Colorado Developments

High Plains Environmental Center supplies native plants and sustainable landscapes to developers and homeowners across Colorado.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Botany

Loveland Nonprofit Grows Native Plants for Colorado Developments

Live Poll

Would you plant native, low-water plants in your own yard?

High Plains Environmental Center, a Loveland nonprofit, grows over 180 native plant species for use in Colorado developments and yards. The center has worked with developers for 25 years, including Centerra and Baseline in Broomfield.

Why it matters

Homeowners in the region identified a need for native plants they could not easily find, and the center has built a program to fill it. Its work shows how native landscaping can be designed into new developments for Colorado residents.

The center's record spans 25 years of developer work and more than 180 native species, drawn from its own program reporting rather than independent measurement. The source does not quantify how much these landscapes have reduced irrigation or runoff.

The players

High Plains Environmental Center

A Loveland nonprofit that grows native plants and designs sustainable landscapes for developers and homeowners in Colorado.

The details

The center designs sustainable landscapes with native plants for developers. A bioswale on its grounds catches parking lot runoff and has no mulch or irrigation; the shallow planted channel slows water so it soaks into the ground. The center also manages grasses and plants in Kinston, a Loveland development, and relies on donations to fund its work.

25 years: The center has worked with developers on sustainable landscapes.
Summer 2026: The bioswale and meadow landscape are being tested under hot, dry weather.
Dec. 8, 2026: Deadline for gifts boosted by a $1 million Colorado Gives Day incentive fund.

Big Picture

The center's work extends native landscaping from individual yards into the developer projects it has served for 25 years, including Centerra and Baseline in Broomfield. This places regional native-plant design inside large Colorado developments rather than only in private gardens.

Homeowners and developers in the Loveland area can draw on the center's native plant supply and landscape design services for their own yards and projects. The center's ongoing fundraising, including the Dec. 8 deadline for boosted gifts, determines how much of this work it can sustain.

The takeaway

Native plants can be designed into developments and home landscapes to conserve water and manage runoff. Readers interested in this approach can contact local nonprofits that grow and sell regional species.