Community Profile

Pledge Status

Active

Pledge Date

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Program Year

2026

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Action Item Report

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Palos Heights

Palos Heights, IL

Robert Straz

Mayor

Pledge Summary

The City of Palos Heights is committed to the Mayors' Monarch Pledge. We have conducted a variety of actions over the years as part of our commitment including planting pollinator gardens, restoring landscapes, conducting educational programs, events and outreach. We are excited to continue this effort in 2026 to help the beleaguered Monarch butterfly with continued restoration efforts, educational programs, and pollinator garden plantings in Palos Heights and beyond.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2026

Communications and Convening

  • 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.

Program and Demonstration Gardens

  • Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.
  • Facilitate or support a milkweed seed collection and propagation effort.
  • Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat.