Butterfly Pavilion Celebrates 26 Years of Invertebrate Conservation on Oct. 1 with Gala featuring Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Elizabeth Kolbert
Event Supports Butterfly Pavilion’s new Broomfield Home Opening in 2025 as the Premier Global Hub of Invertebrate Conservation, Research and Education
WESTMINSTER, CO., Sept. 28, 2021 – Butterfly Pavilion announces Emerge: Butterfly Pavilion’s 26th Anniversary Celebration gala on October 1, inviting audiences to participate in the “LIVE” streaming event online. The program features Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert, who has dedicated her career to science reporting and global warming research. Funds raised from the event will support further growth for Butterfly Pavilion and its global efforts to educate about the need to protect and care for threatened habitats, while conducting research for solutions in invertebrate conservation.
“With declines in global insect populations, and the risk of further extinction related to global warming, our mission of protecting invertebrates is even more critical today,” said Patrick Tennyson, President and CEO, Butterfly Pavilion. “By increasing our efforts and raising funds, with events such as our annual gala, we can address these threats by opening the new Butterfly Pavilion facility in Broomfield, Colorado in just a few years, which will expand our invertebrate research, education and conservation.”
Invertebrates are the foundational animal species within all ecosystems on our planet and upon which all life relies. Among the ecological services provided by invertebrates are recycling of organic matter, creation of soil, pollination, exerting natural biological controls, providing the base of food webs, and much more. The loss of biodiversity would have unimaginable impacts and lead to the collapse of the ecological systems upon which humanity and most other life depend.
Whether it is providing unique, hands-on learning experiences in exhibits and educational programs, conducting new invertebrate research that sets the standards for zoos across the country, or providing innovative solutions for species and habitat conservation around the world, Butterfly Pavilion is leading the movement to ensure invertebrates are protected for the future.
26th Anniversary Celebration Gala Supports Growth
The gala is not only a celebration of Butterfly Pavilion’s history, but also of its future by supporting fundraising efforts for a new $55M, 81,000-square-foot facility in Broomfield, Colorado, opening in 2025. This monumental endeavor will further elevate Butterfly Pavilion as a global leader in invertebrate research, conservation, and education, while providing a unique immersive facility through which the community can engage with and learn from for generations to come.
The new Butterfly Pavilion will include greatly-expanded guest experiences, world-class research labs and a much larger zoological facility. The new Butterfly Pavilion will be at the heart of the new Baseline development in Broomfield, Colorado, which will be home to an unprecedented multi-use development combining science, environmental conservation, education, housing and commercial development. Baseline will feature a 1,200-acre, first of-its-kind “Pollinator District,” a pollinator-friendly habitat, and interpretive programming, ushering in a new model for community development and landscapes. Floor plans for the new Butterfly Pavilion will be unveiled at the gala. B
The gala, held from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. (MT) on October 1, will feature a Q&A conversation between special guest Elizabeth Kolbert and moderator Kevin Fitzgerald, a Colorado-based veterinarian, comedian and star of Animal Planet’s Emergency Vets series. Both virtual and in-person guests will have the opportunity to participate in a silent auction, while guests on site at the event location, The Establishment at Bradburn Village can engage with live animals, join the live auction, and sample a special menu of savory hors d’oeuvres and decadent desserts.
About Butterfly Pavilion
Founded in July 1995 and accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2014, Butterfly Pavilion is the first accredited, stand-alone, non-profit invertebrate zoo in the world, occupying a 30,000-square foot facility situated on an 11-acre campus provided by the City of Westminster, Colorado. Butterfly Pavilion’s mission is to foster an appreciation of butterflies and other invertebrates while educating the public about the need for conservation of threatened habitats in the tropics and around the world. Learn more at www.butterflies.org/about-us/
