Community Profile

Pledge Status

Active

Pledge Date

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Program Year

2026

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Action Item Report

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Village of Oakwood Hills

Oakwood Hills, IL

Chad Rider

Village President

Pledge Summary

Oakwood Hills is a small village in northern Illinois, surrounded by high quality conservation sites. It is home to a remnant fen that is an Illinois State Nature Preserve and supports many locally threatened species. Active volunteers host restoration days for locals. To support the fen and expand the range of the many species in there, Id like the village to become involved in conservation and restoration.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2026

Communications and Convening

  • 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 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.
  • 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.

Systems Change

  • Increase the percentage of native plants, shrubs and trees that must be used in city landscaping ordinances and encourage use of milkweed, where appropriate.