Community Profile

Pledge Status

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Pledge Date

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Program Year

2025

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Action Item Report

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City of Austin

Austin , TX

Kirk Watson

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Austin shows a strong, community-wide commitment to monarch and pollinator conservation through education, habitat restoration, and hands-on engagement. City departments, nonprofits, schools, and volunteers collaborate on efforts like the Bee Monitoring Project, City Nature Challenge, and BioBlitz, which engage thousands in documenting pollinator activity and supporting native ecosystems. Large events such as the Roots & Wings Festival and It’s My Park Day mobilize residents in planting, invasive species removal, and restoration of green spaces. Demonstration gardens, prescribed burns, and community-led prairie projects further expand pollinator-friendly habitats. These efforts reflect Austin’s dedication to biodiversity, equitable access to nature, and long-term ecological health under the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2025

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.

Program and Demonstration Gardens

  • Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.
  • Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location.
  • 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

  • Change weed or mowing ordinances to allow for native prairie and plant habitats.
  • Reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides, pesticides, or other chemicals that are harmful to monarchs and pollinators and urban wildlife.