2025 Impact Highlight
Boulder County, Front Range Region
Training landscape professionals, municipal planners on fire-resilient landscaping principles
Communities across Colorado face increasing wildfire risk driven by climate change, expanded development in the wildland-urban interface, and prolonged drought conditions. Landscape architects, designers, and municipal planners often lack training in fire-resilient landscaping principles, including defensible space planning, ignition zone design, and fire-adapted plant selection.
Traditional design practices can unintentionally increase ignition risk near homes, businesses, and public spaces. This gap affects entire communities, as professional design decisions influence the fire vulnerability of residential developments, commercial properties, and municipal landscapes. Landscape professionals across Colorado needed research-based guidance to design landscapes that reduce wildfire risk and protect lives and property.
To address this need, Colorado State University Extension partnered with Wildfire Partners of Boulder County to deliver a free statewide webinar for landscape and municipal professionals. The program combined CSU Extension’s horticultural expertise with Wildfire Partners’ community wildfire preparedness knowledge to provide accessible, research-based training.
The webinar’s first segment focused on best practices for defensible space and ignition zone design, including strategies for layout, hardscape materials, and maintenance. The second segment addressed plant selection, highlighting fire-adapted species that can replace commonly used flammable plants.
Participants received information on plant characteristics, maintenance requirements, and design applications. The webinar format allowed professionals statewide to access training without travel or time away from their offices.
Impact and Outcomes
Participants reported increased confidence in recommending fire-adapted plant palettes, designing defensible space, and educating clients and community members on fire-resilient landscaping:
- The webinar reached 149 landscape professionals, municipal staff, and community partners across Colorado.
- Post-webinar survey results showed that 100 percent of respondents increased their knowledge of both defensible space best practices and ignition-resistant plant materials.
- Forty-four percent reported significant knowledge gains in defensible space, and 56 percent learned one or two new strategies.
- For ignition-resistant plant materials, 89 percent reported significant knowledge gains, and 11 percent learned one or two new concepts.
- Seventy-eight percent of respondents committed to adopting ignition-resistant landscaping practices in their work.
- Eighty-nine percent planned to use provided resources for continued learning.
By strengthening professional capacity in fire-resilient landscape design, this program supports Colorado communities in reducing wildfire vulnerability. As participating professionals apply these principles across future projects, the benefits multiply: This will result in safer neighborhoods, reduced potential for property loss, and more efficient use of emergency response resources. The training also supports broader climate adaptation goals by promoting plant materials and landscape practices that address both fire resilience and long-term environmental sustainability.