Community Profile

Pledge Status

Complete

Pledge Date

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Program Year

2023

Achievement

2023

Links and Uploads

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Action Item Report

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BIDDEFORD

BIDDEFORD, ME

Alan Casavant

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Biddeford, Maine is a city of approximately 22,000 people. It is located on the Saco River, as well as the Atlantic Ocean. Possessing a robust downtown, the city has undergone a renaissance, with many new shops, restaurants, and breweries. The city is home to the University of New England and Southern Maine Health Care, and it is recognized as the youngest city in Maine. The Mayor and the City Council have signed onto the Monarch Pledge in recent years, and it has done so in a partnership with a hugely successful community garden program. City departments are aware of the need to protect pollinators, and they have adapted to changes in the way their typical activities and programs are done.

Community Spotlight

Monarch at Williams Court

Each year, we continue to add wildflowers and native plantings to each of our four community gardens.

Action Items Committed for 2023

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.
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 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 community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.

Program and Demonstration Gardens ▸

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.
Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar-producing plants in gardens in the community.
Launch or maintain an outdoor education program(s) (e.g., at schools, after-school programs, community centers and groups) that builds awareness and creates habitat by engaging students, educators, and the community in planting native milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants (i.e., National Wildlife Federation’s Schoolyard Habitats program and Monarch Mission curriculum).

Past Pledge Archive

Mayor Name	Program Year	Pledge Date	Achievement
Mayor Martin Grohman	2025	3/10/2025		View Pledge
Mayor Martin Grohman	2024	2/1/2024	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Alan Casavant	2023	2/18/2023	Signatories	View Pledge
Mayor Alan Casavant	2022	2/25/2022	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Alan Casavant	2021	4/27/2021	Signatories	View Pledge