UGI Establishes Pollinator Garden at Denver Headquarters

Did you know: The first week of June is recognized as National Gardening Week.

Gardens can provide fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as beautify our communities. At our UGI Utilities headquarters office in Denver, PA, we’re in the process of establishing pollinator gardens around the campus. A pollinator can be a bee, beetle, ant, wasp, butterfly, moth, hummingbird, bat or even a small mammal. Without pollinators, many of the foods, beverages, fibers, spices, and medicines we use daily wouldn’t be possible.

At UGI, establishing a pollinator garden presents an opportunity to improve the appearance of the grounds and provide habitat for important fauna and flora. It also reflects a commitment to sustainability that will resonate positively with company stakeholders and that can be managed even in an economically challenging time.

“The Denver pollinator garden project represents an excellent collaborative opportunity to improve our headquarters and the environment,” said Seth Pelepko, Program Manager – Sustainability. “It is particularly exciting that UGI will be able to showcase this work at our utilities’ headquarters and possibly use it as a model for other facilities in the future.”

With assistance from Land Studies, Inc., a local, certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) that has experience establishing pollinator gardens, this multi-year pollinator garden project not only will provide habitat for pollinators, but also reduce stormwater runoff, improve water quality, and reduce maintenance costs at the Denver campus.

UGI also recently received a grant to support the implementation of the pollinator gardens. Thanks to a generous gift from Stantec, the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) offered a small-awards program through the Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group to energy and transportation organizations creating and conserving pollinator habitat. For its third award cycle, the Pollinate Program awarded 8 companies their positive impact on enhancing pollinator habitat and promoting environmental stewardship in their respective communities.

At the Denver headquarters, a total of 3 acres will be converted. The addition of the gardens will lessen the need to apply lawn maintenance chemicals annually, and it is also estimated that the company will achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to the energy needed to charge more than 122,000 smart phones.

To date, UGI has prepared the areas at the Denver office designated for the pollinator gardens by treating the existing vegetation during a program that extended from the fall of 2024 to early spring of 2025.  The grounds were drill seeded in late April and the first signs of ground cover have begun to emerge. Land Studies, Inc. will next begin the annual maintenance program to manage any invasive species and provide optimum habitat for native species. Full garden maturity is about a 3-5 year process, but some colorful flowers are expected to emerge later this summer.

UGI employees at Denver recently assembled “pollinator packets” to distribute to local youth groups who will soon visit the Denver office to learn more about pollinator gardens and be able to develop their own native plantings at home. These packets included seeds, activities, and information about establishing pollinator gardens. Stay tuned for more information about UGI’s pollinator gardens and our environmental and community impact in the near future!