Community Profile

Pledge Status

Active

Pledge Date

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Program Year

2024

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Toms River Township

Toms River, NJ

Daniel Rodrick

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Toms River Township is a large town in Coastal New Jersey that nearly 100,000 people call home. We have a unique mix of natural conditions, from sandy beachfront areas to heavily forested cover, wetlands to farmlands, preserved open space to dense residential areas. Each year, we continue to make great strides in water conservation, preserving open space, clean recreation on the water, and so much more. Last year, we achieved our signatory status and created our showpiece pollinator garden at one of our beaches to provide habitat for monarchs and more. We look forward to the installation of Phase II of that garden, and more initiatives throughout the year. I support the National Wildlife Federation and its community engagement initiatives, and we look forward to continuing the work to ensure pollinators, and especially Monarchs, are thriving for years to come.

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Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2024

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.
  • 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 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.

Program and Demonstration Gardens

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