Community Profile

Pledge Status

Complete

Pledge Date

Friday, April 9, 2021

Program Year

2021

Achievement

Leadership Circle

2021

Links and Uploads

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Action Item Report

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City of Lincoln

Lincoln, NE

Leirion Gaylor Baird

Mayor

Pledge Summary

The City of Lincoln is located in the heart of America and is the capital city of the state of Nebraska as well as the county seat of Lancaster County. As one of the top 10 college towns in the country, Lincoln covers 96.194 square miles with a population of close to 290,000 and is the second largest city in Nebraska. Lincoln has an impressive community wide parks and recreation system that includes 128 parks, 85 playgrounds, 133 miles of trails, 10 pools, 5 recreation centers, and 5 public golf courses. Amenities like these are vital for our community's health, safety, quality of life, and economic prosperity. Lincoln is committed the preservation of precious ecosystems and native habitats that protect the monarch butterfly and other pollinators.

Community Spotlight

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Preservation of 40 acres of prairie

We were able to purchase a 40 acre parcel with about 18 acres of high diversity native planting An additional 13 acres of pasture will be rehabilitated to prairie and additional diversification of the seeding will continue.

Action Items Committed for 2021

Communications and Convening

  • 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 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.
  • Engage with gardening leaders and partners (e.g., Master Naturalists, Master Gardeners, Nature Centers, Native Plant Society Chapters , other long-standing and influential community leaders) to support monarch butterfly conservation.
  • Engage with Homeowners Associations (HOAs), Community Associations or neighborhood organizations to identify opportunities to plant monarch gardens and revise maintenance and mowing programs.
  • Create a community art project to enhance and promote monarch and pollinator conservation as well as cultural awareness and recognition.

Program and Demonstration Gardens

  • Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.
  • Facilitate or support a milkweed seed collection and propagation effort.
  • Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location.
  • Plant milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants along roadsides, medians, or public rights-of-way.
  • Initiate or support community science (or citizen science) efforts that help monitor monarch migration and health.
  • Launch, expand, or continue an invasive species removal program that will support the re-establishment of native habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
  • Host or support a monarch butterfly festival that is accessible to all residents in the community and promotes monarch and pollinator conservation, as well as cultural awareness and recognition.

Systems Change

  • Remove milkweed from the list of noxious plants in city weed / landscaping ordinances (if applicable).
  • Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.
  • Launch, expand, or continue one or more ordinances to reduce light pollution to benefit urban wildlife.