METRO DENVER NATURE ALLIANCE (mDNA)
Susan Daggett
Associate Professor of the Practice, Sturm College of Law
Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute
What is mDNA?
mDNA is a growing coalition of non-profits, government, research and private sector partners seeking to align nature-based efforts to ensure more equitable access to nature and to promote healthy people, communities and natural places. Through shared visioning and sustained collaborations, Metro DNA works for a future when:
- Metro Denver residents have equitable access to parks, open space 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 function.
Underlying mDNA’s approach is the belief that a coordinated alliance can achieve more than the sum of its parts: as partners jointly consider the intersections among key regional issues, they can develop and implement more equitable, effective and sustainable solutions.
University of Denver as the Academic Partner
Engaged Courses:
We have numerous courses, students and professors involved in this partnership. Our Engaged Courses are as follows:
- David Carlson, The Importance of Nature for Human Health and Well-Being (Korbel School of International Studies)
- Andrew Goetz, Urban and Regional Planning (Geography, Natural Sciences and Mathematics)
- Megan Kelly, Writing and Research (University Writing Center)
- Cara DiEnno, Community and Environmental Wellness (Wellness Living and Learning Community)
- Cara DiEnno, Civic Engagement
- Rebecca Powell, Remote Sensing (Geography, Natural Sciences and Mathematics)
- Patience Crowder, Community Economic Development Clinic (Sturm College of Law)
- Julie Morris, Sustaining Life (Biology, Natural Sciences and Mathematics)
- Sarah Bexell and Praneitha Mudliar, Just Sustainabilities (Graduate School of Social Work)
Collaborations:
- We are launching the first collaborative project, the Nature Narratives Project, to build capacity and assist partner organizations in communicating their individual and collective roles in promoting access to and engagement with urban nature in the Denver Metro area. This is supported by DU’s writing program and the Communications Department.
- Working closely with the US Forest Service, the Denver Urban Field Station (DUFS) was launched to research collaborative organizing and leverage applied research on urban ecology. Student fellows from DU’s Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL) and the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute (RMLUI) continue to work to ensure that DU has an active role in the DUFS.
Special Thanks for the Faculty and Staff Cluster:
Andy Goetz, Megan Kelly, David Carlson, Keith Miller, Laura Meyer, Sarah Bexell, Shawn Aifrey, Dean Saitta, Don Mayer, Cecilia Orphan, Becky Powell, Robin Tinghitella, Hilary Hamann, Shannon Murphy, Patience Crowder, Sheila Davis, Anna Sher Simon, Tom Romero, Janney Carpenter, Praneitha Mudiliar, Julie Morris, Cara DiEnno, Chad King, David Coppini, and Corey Marz (PhD Student).
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