Community Profile

Pledge Status

Complete

Pledge Date

Monday, March 22, 2021

Program Year

2021

Achievement

Signatories

2021

Links and Uploads

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Action Item Report

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City of Manassas

Manassas, VA

Michelle Davis-Younger

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Manassas is an urban habitat of 45,000 people located 30 miles southwest of Washington, DC. The city is 10 square miles and has 230 acres of parkland and open space. In 2020 the City adopted a goal that Manassas would be a sustainable and resilient city that values the environment, encourages access to nature, and provides a safe, pleasant, and healthy community for residents of all ages, abilities and incomes. A strategy to achieving that goal includes, "Supporting the conservation of local and regional biodiversity by promoting the protection and enhancement of native plant communities and pollinator and wildlife habitats while managing invasive plant and animal species."

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2021

Communications and Convening

  • Engage with city parks and recreation, public works, sustainability, and other relevant staff to identify opportunities to revise and maintain mowing programs and milkweed / native nectar plant planting programs.
  • 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.

Program and Demonstration Gardens

  • 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).
  • Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar-producing plants in gardens in the community.

Systems Change

  • Launch, expand, or continue an effort to change municipal planting ordinances and practices to include more native milkweed and native nectar producing plants at city properties.