Community Profile

Pledge Status

Active

Pledge Date

Friday, February 27, 2026

Program Year

2026

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Action Item Report

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BIDDEFORD

BIDDEFORD, ME

Liam Lafountain

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Biddeford, Maine is a city of 23,000 residents on the Atlantic coast and Saco River, with several hundred acres of beautiful greenspaces and preservation lands. Since 2021, the City of Biddeford with the support of its partner, Biddeford Community Gardens, has committed to the Mayor's Monarch Pledge through such actions as creating and preserving land for the benefit of the Monarch Butterfly and other important pollinators. Through educational programs, public awareness campaigns, such as our in-progress petition to reduce/eliminate the use of pesticides city-wide, and public art initiatives, we remain committed to saving and increasing in the numbers of one of our most majestic and recognizable species.

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Community Spotlight

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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 2026

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 community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.
  • Create a community art project to enhance and promote monarch and pollinator conservation as well as cultural awareness and recognition.

Program and Demonstration Gardens ▸

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

  • Reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides, pesticides, or other chemicals that are harmful to monarchs and pollinators and urban wildlife.
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