Community Profile

Pledge Status

Complete

Pledge Date

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Program Year

2023

Achievement

Signatories

2023

Links and Uploads

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Action Item Report

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Town of Whitby

Whitby, ON

Elizabeth Roy

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Established in 1855, the Town of Whitby is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, 30 km east of Toronto. The Town maintains 125 parks with 950 acres of active parkland, over 1000 acres of passive open space, and approximately 75 kilometres of trails. The estimated population is 138,300 and Durham Region predicts the population of Whitby will be approximately 200,000 by 2033. The Town of Whitby’s mission to create and maintain a sustainable, healthy, and safe community/environment can be achieved, in part, through the maintenance, restoration, and enhancement of the Town’s green infrastructure. A healthy habitat for pollinators is an integral component of the municipality.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2023

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.)

Program and Demonstration Gardens

  • Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat.
  • 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.