Community Profile

Pledge Summary

The City of Akron, a gateway to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, sits along a major watershed divide between the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Out waterways, parks, historic canalways, ledges, neighborhood and community gardens, and public green infrastructure provide ample opportunities for prioritizing pollinator habitats. The City recently passed legislation revising our noxious weed ordinance to allow for the growth of milkweed, common daisies and other native plants to facilitate those opportunities. We have partnered with organizations such as Let’s Grow Akron to provide public educational opportunities on milkweed and milkweed propagation. We have hosted milkweed seed giveaways at Ward meetings. In addition, we have and will continue to provide public educational opportunities through our Akron Waterways Renewed program on pollinators and their habitat. Our green infrastructure programs incorporate pollinator habitat in our designs and maintenance of those stormwater features. We couple those installations with associated public education. Our annual Blue Heron Homecoming event will feature rain garden kits and a tree giveaway coupled with educational demonstrations and hands-on activities related to pollinator and caring for their habitat.