Community Profile

Pledge Status

Did Not Report

Pledge Date

Friday, February 5, 2021

Program Year

2021

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Action Item Report

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City of Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK, IL

Nancy R. Rotering

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Highland Park is a small city on the shores of Lake Michigan 25 miles north of Chicago. With towering lake bluffs, secluded ravines, and wooded lots, the city has always had a special relationship with nature and the character of the city is defined by large old oaks and hickories. Mayor Rotering has committed to increasing pollinator habitat by removing invasive species such as buckthorn from public land and replacing it with native perennials, shrubs, and trees.

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Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2021

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.

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.
  • Convert vacant lots to monarch habitat.
  • Plant milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants along roadsides, medians, or public rights-of-way.
  • Launch, expand, or continue an invasive species removal program that will support the re-establishment of native habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

Systems Change

  • Reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides, pesticides, or other chemicals that are harmful to monarchs and pollinators and urban wildlife.
  • Launch, expand, or continue an effort to change municipal planting ordinances and practices to include more native milkweed and native nectar producing plants at city properties.
  • Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.
  • Launch, expand, or continue one or more ordinances to reduce light pollution to benefit urban wildlife.