Community Profile

Pledge Status

Active

Pledge Date

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Program Year

2026

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Action Item Report

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Village of Port Barrington

Port Barrington, IL

KEITH VOGELER

VILLAGE PRESIDENT

Pledge Summary

The Village of Port Barrington is a small river town nestled in the Fox River Valley (pop.1584, 2020 Census) approximately 45 miles northwest of Chicago. Established in 1927 and incorporated in 1969, this recreational community has walking, biking and snowmobile trails, boating, fishing, and several parks and marinas within its boundaries. The Fox River Preserve of the Lake County Forest Preserve District is also within the boundaries of Port Barrington, offering its own marina, pavilions, and connecting trails for more outdoor enjoyment. The Village is a designated Tree City U.S.A. and Bee City U.S.A. Because it is a river community, stormwater management is a priority---and lends perfect opportunities for using native pollinator plants in landscaping! This past year, Port Barrington has begun planning yet another pollinator friendly project at the shorelines of property that will soon be a community park. By signing the Mayors' Monarch Pledge, The Village of Port Barrington maintains its commitment to monarch and pollinator conservation.

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Community Spotlight

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Leaves provide insect homes!

Educational signage encourages folks to "leave the leaves" to create an over-winter habitat for insects.

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Hermann Park Bioswale: Before & After

One of the two new bioswales excavated and under-seeded with native plant seeds in 2024 has been further planted with native pollinator-friendly plugs in Spring 2025! Blooms exploded for everyone's enjoyment, especially butterflies!

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POLLINATOR WEEK

At the annual Village Movie Night showing of The Wizard of Oz, Pollinator Week was promoted both on land and screen!!

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Pollinator Week Promotion

Our Spring Egg Hunt was the perfect time for a coloring contest promoting the upcoming 2025 Pollinator Week!

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Going for a stroll.....

Monarch "cat" on its way to the milkweed leaves in the background for lunch!

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Monarch Watch Station

One of the many Village native pollinator "pocket gardens" resides behind the Village Hall in Hermann Park. A perfect example to homeowners of what can be done to support monarchs in smaller spaces

Action Items Committed for 2026

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 city parks and recreation, public works, sustainability, and other relevant staff to identify opportunities to revise and maintain mowing programs and milkweed / native nectar plant planting programs.
  • 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

  • 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).
  • Earn or maintain recognition for being a wildlife-friendly city by participating in other wildlife and habitat conservation efforts (i.e., National Wildlife Federation’s Community Wildlife Habitat program).
  • 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

  • Remove milkweed from the list of noxious plants in city weed / landscaping ordinances (if applicable).
  • Change weed or mowing ordinances to allow for native prairie and plant habitats.
  • Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.