Populus, the country’s first carbon-positive hotel, is launching its “One Night, One Tree” program. Coinciding with the Denver hotel’s opening on September 18 and in partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF), Populus will plant one tree for every night’s stay, amounting to up to 20,000 newly planted trees in 2024. “One Night, One Tree” is part of the hotel’s overarching sustainability approach. Other efforts to offset its operational carbon footprint include working with local farms to promote regenerative practices, committing to 100 percent renewable electricity, and converting all food waste into compost that is returned to local farmers.
Managed by Aparium Hotel Group, a pioneer in the lifestyle hospitality industry, and developed by Urban Villages, a leading real estate developer and environmentalist, Populus will feature 265 guest rooms; iconic aspen-inspired architecture by AD100 Studio Gang; a lounge and coffee bar; flexible event spaces; Pasque, an all-day dining restaurant serving nature-inspired cuisine; and Stellar Jay, a vibrant rooftop restaurant, bar and outdoor terrace serving bold cuisine cooked over an open fire with uninterrupted views of the mountains and city skyline.
Upon opening, Populus will begin offsetting its ongoing operations with “One Night, One Tree,” inviting guests to experience and support eco-friendly hospitality with each stay. The program will be implemented in partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF), the leading organization bringing people together to restore national forests and grasslands. As the nation’s first carbon-positive hotel, Populus’ carbon footprint will be mitigated through forest management (or forestry) and regenerative agricultural partnerships, whose actions will sequester more carbon than is emitted by the building’s construction and operation over its entire lifecycle. These programs will be proven to remove carbon from the atmosphere and have a net positive effect on climate change. Populus’s sequestered carbon – the carbon released during the creation, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal of the materials used to build the hotel – has already been reduced through a combination of sustainable design and construction techniques and offset by planting and encouraging the growth of over 70,000 trees (over 172 acres) in Gunnison County, Colorado in the summer of 2022.
“We’re excited to invite our guests to join us in planting a tree for every night of their stay, right here in Colorado. This makes sustainable travel easy and we’re helping to improve our environment one tree at a time,” said General Manager George Prine. “Populus will demonstrate that conscious travel doesn’t have to be a sacrifice. In fact, it can significantly enhance the guest experience through thoughtful design, engaging programs, delicious food and drink, world-class service and the knowledge that you’re making a positive impact.”
“When we began building Populus in 2022 and committed to being carbon positive, we wanted to be transparent about our ever-evolving strategy in hopes of making an impact on our environment and inspiring others – developers, hoteliers and consumers – to take a more environmentally friendly approach,” says Jon Buerge, President of Urban Villages. “Populus is about so much more than just offsetting carbon emissions; it’s concretely supporting our local farmers, bringing trees and biodiversity to our forests, bringing nature to our city and connecting guests to our natural world.”
One night, one tree: Support reforestation with every stay
All aspects of Populus are authentically rooted in nature, from the biophilic architecture shaped by the growth process of the Colorado native aspen – Aspento the seasonally and consciously selected restaurant menus, to the interior design and art program that celebrates the beauty of nature. Once open, guests will be immersed in nature and actively contribute to reforestation through Populus’ partnership with the NFF, which plants one tree per night on behalf of guests. Under the “One Night, One Tree” program, the more nights a guest stays, the more trees Populus plants. For example, a four-night stay equals four trees planted. Guests also have the option to purchase additional trees to support Populus’ efforts to grow and maintain forests for future generations.
On behalf of the American public, the NFF leads forest conservation efforts and promotes responsible recreation. Populus selected the NFF as a partner because of its ability to meet the Colorado hotel’s forestry – or forest management – goals. The NFF demonstrates a clear and measurable commitment to mitigating climate change by facilitating region-specific tree planting, ecosystem regeneration, and biodiversity support in projects at a scale that meets Populus’ carbon sequestration goals. The organization also maintains a close relationship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and technical service providers, who together provide long-term tree monitoring and protection through regular seedling monitoring, random sampling, and browsing protection.
The Populus trees will be planted in two regions of Colorado: the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, which are focused on improving forest health in response to a spruce bark beetle epidemic and aspen dieback; and the White River National Forest, which is focused on restoring degraded forests following the 2018 Lake Christine Fire and is located at the summit of Basalt Mountain. The trees planted will be a mix of Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine and Douglas fir – native and ecologically appropriate species selected by Forest Service professionals to improve conditions for each individual forest.
Bringing nature into the urban environment
In addition to supporting off-site forests, Populus will bring a diverse range of trees and local vegetation to the heart of downtown Denver through its rooftop garden and on-site streetscape—both designed by Denver-based landscape architecture firm Superbloom. The green roof is a four-season garden filled with lush, perennial trees, shrubs, and plant species that support habitat and pollination, provide a cooling effect from harsh sun through shading and evapotranspiration, and enhance biodiversity in the dense urban environment.
Around the hotel’s streets, Populus is planting a canopy of trees with innovative infrastructure that provides the trees with a more aerated soil volume, mimicking the conditions and benefits of a forest despite being in the middle of the city. This was made possible by grants from The Nature Conservancy’s Healthy Cities Program, which uses nature-based solutions like tree planting to promote biodiversity and climate change resilience in cities, and the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Urban Forest Initiative, which aims to reimagine the way trees are planted and cared for in downtown Denver. Populus’ on-site trees will be planted in Silva Cells, an innovative technology of underground structural supports that provide the trees with access to uncompacted soil similar to a natural forest environment where tree roots intermingle, while supporting the weight of the concrete pavement. This proven technology enables the growth of mature trees, which is particularly challenging in an urban environment, and brings significant benefits to the local atmosphere, including a 10 degree reduction in ambient temperature, a 60 percent reduction in particles from car exhaust* and other benefits that make walking down the street in front of Populus even more pleasant.
There will also be custom benches by Superbloom along Populus’ tree-lined sidewalks where passersby can relax or enjoy a coffee from the ground-floor coffee bar. The benches are made from salvaged locust wood from trees felled during the renovation of the 16th Street Mall – downtown Denver’s main public thoroughfare – giving the trees a second life.
