Community Profile

Pledge Status

Complete

Pledge Date

Friday, February 7, 2025

Program Year

2025

Achievement

Leadership Circle

2025

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Action Item Report

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Village of Grayslake

Grayslake, IL

Rhett Taylor

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Grayslake is a Village located in Northeast Illinois with a population of roughly 21,000. The Village has worked extensively to maintain and create green space in conjunction with development, and places emphasis on planting native plants and other pollinator promoting plants when undertaking landscaping and other projects. Mayor Taylor is committed to protecting the Monarch butterfly population and looks forward to continuing to work to promote local pollinators through the Village’s efforts as well as engaging the community about ways they can help the Monarchs at home.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2025

Communications and Convening ▸

  • Issue a proclamation to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the species’ need for habitat. This proclamation must incorporate a focus on monarch conservation.
  • Launch or maintain a public communication effort to encourage residents to plant monarch gardens at their homes or in their neighborhoods. (If you have community members who speak a language other than English, we encourage you to also communicate in that language; Champion Pledges must communicate in that language.)
  • Engage with community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.
  • Engage with Homeowners Associations (HOAs), Community Associations or neighborhood organizations to identify opportunities to plant monarch gardens and revise maintenance and mowing programs.

Program and Demonstration Gardens ▸

  • Plant milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants along roadsides, medians, or public rights-of-way.
  • Earn or maintain recognition for being a wildlife-friendly city by participating in other wildlife and habitat conservation efforts (i.e., National Wildlife Federation’s Community Wildlife Habitat program).
  • Launch, expand, or continue an invasive species removal program that will support the re-establishment of native habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

Systems Change ▸

  • Increase the percentage of native plants, shrubs and trees that must be used in city landscaping ordinances and encourage use of milkweed, where appropriate.
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