Community Profile

Pledge Status

Complete

Pledge Date

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Program Year

2024

Achievement

2024

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Action Item Report

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Bella Vista

Bella Vista, AR

John Flynn

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Bella Vista is a scenic city of over 30,000 residents, located in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, where nature lovers can enjoy numerous amenities, such as, multiple lakes, golf courses, and biking and hiking trails. The city also has a vibrant community that is committed to creating habitat for pollinators, especially the monarch butterfly. In 2024, Mayor Flynn has committed to restoring the monarch population by encouraging development of pollinator friendly spaces and by educating our residents about the importance of pollinator conservation.

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 community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.
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.
Engage with developers, planners, landscape architects, and other community leaders and organizers engaged in planning processes to identify opportunities to create monarch habitat.

Program and Demonstration Gardens ▸

Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.
Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar-producing plants in gardens in the community.
Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat.

Systems Change ▸

Launch, expand, or continue one or more ordinances to reduce light pollution to benefit urban wildlife.

Past Pledge Archive

Mayor Name	Program Year	Pledge Date	Achievement
Mayor John Flynn	2025	3/5/2025		View Pledge
Mayor John Flynn	2024	2/14/2024	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor John Flynn	2023	2/3/2023	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Mayor Peter Christie	2022	3/14/2022	Leadership Circle	View Pledge