Community Profile

Pledge Status

Active

Pledge Date

Friday, May 15, 2026

Program Year

2026

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Action Item Report

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City of Carmel

Carmel, IN

Sue Finkam

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Carmel is a city in central Indiana with a population of roughly 105,000. The city is a northern suburb of Indianapolis and home to Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation. Mayor Sue Finkam, in partnership with Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation, are committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators with their signing of the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. Through this partnership, they look forward to engaging residents of Carmel, IN, in pollinator habitat education and development across the parks and the city.

Community Spotlight

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.
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 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.
Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location.
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).
Initiate or support community science (or citizen science) efforts that help monitor monarch migration and health.
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 ▸

Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.

Past Pledge Archive

Mayor Name	Program Year	Pledge Date	Achievement
Mayor Sue Finkam	2026	5/15/2026		View Pledge