City of Vaughan
City of Vaughan, ON
Steven Del Duca
Summary for 2023
The City of Vaughan is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. In 2018 City Council adopted a resolution committing to the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge and the City has worked diligently to fulfil the actions annually since. Mayor Del Duca is excited to be taking the pledge in 2023 and for the City of Vaughan to be launching new actions around citizen science, and maintenance and mowing programs.
City of Pearland
Pearland, TX
LAYNI CADE
Summary for 2023
The City of Pearland (pronounced “pear-land”, like the fruit), has the unique characteristic of sitting in 3 different counties—Brazoria, Harris and Fort Bend. We preseve many spots for migrating birds, and Pearland is a great place for bird-watchers! We also have a great park system with extensive trails for our residents to enjoy.
City of Fishers
Fishers, IN
Crystal Neumann
Summary for 2023
Fishers is a city of roughly 100,000 people in population. We are in central Indiana, just north of Indianapolis. We are committed to sustainability and moving toward becoming a more green city.
City of Thornton
Thornton, CO
Jan Kulmann
Summary for 2023
Thornton, Colorado, is a City of approximately 140,000 residents in the north Denver metro area, running south to north paralleling the beautiful Colorado Front Range. Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann is committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators with the signing of the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. She looks forward to continuing her engagement with residents in developing additional pollinator habitat throughout the City. To improve Monarch life cycle success, Mayor Kulmann has encouraged intentional maintenance practices designed for the restoration of pollinator habitat. These practices include reduction of pesticide use near milkweed in targeted locations and the innovative Naturally Thornton program, converting turfgrass into sustainable and native grasslands. In addition, Mayor Kulmann actively supports the citizen driven Monarch Fly Way initiative, which links City appropriate breeding habitat into a single unified habitat corridor, characterized by appropriate maintenance and public education.
City of Boerne
Boerne, TX
Frank Ritchie
Summary for 2023
Boerne, the county seat of Kendall County, is one of the fastest growing and desirable places to live in the nation with its historical charm, natural Hill Country beauty, vibrant parks, and award-winning community services. Located 30 miles northwest of San Antonio, seventh largest U.S. city, Boerne is positioned on the southern edge of the Edwards Plateau that is rich in both natural and cultural resources. Both the City of Boerne and Kendall County collaborate with multiple robust local conservation-focused venues, land trusts and volunteer organizations that do much to educate, promote and implement a variety of programs and activities that support native species diversity. The results of these partnerships is evident in the protection and enhancement of habitat for native plants and pollinator species of this biologically diverse ecoregion
Town of Southampton
Southampton, MA
Christine Fowles
Summary for 2023
Southampton is a small, rural town of approximately 6,200 people in Western Massachusetts that is actively committed to preserving its open space and conservation areas. Residents value the town’s agricultural heritage, its scenic areas and hiking trails. Community groups are supporting the Select Board’s signing of the Pledge and will expand their efforts to create conditions favorable to the monarch butterfly and other pollinators.
City of Topeka
Topeka, KS
Mike Padilla
Summary for 2023
The City of Topeka is the capital city of Kansas, with a population of approximately 126,000 residents. Topeka is supportive of its wild places and wild animals and plants that depend on those places. Topeka supports conservation of monarchs and other pollinators through a variety of strategies including native restoration at construction or improvement projects, and significant amounts of education and hands-on conservation work through efforts at the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center in Topeka.
Crystal Lake Park District
Crystal Lake, IL
Jason Herbster
Summary for 2023
Charged with providing park and recreation services for approximately 55,000 residents, the Crystal Lake Park District system includes 42 parks spanning over 1,400 acres and program offerings of over 1,000 annually. Facilities include the Nature Center, Main and West Beaches, Colonel Palmer House, Lippold Family Golf Center, Boncosky Softball Complex at Lippold Park, Grand Oaks Recreation/Active Adult Center, the Racket Club, Barlina House Preschool, and numerous picnic shelters. In addition to parks, facilities and programs, the district maintains miles of bike and hiking trails enjoyed by many throughout the year. It is the mission of the Crystal Lake Park District to enrich all lives through Recreation, Parks and Nature.
City of Murrieta
Murrieta, CA
Lisa DeForest
Summary for 2023
Murrieta's more than 115,000 residents live in one of the safest cities in the U.S., with top-ranked schools and a dynamic business environment. Central to all of Southern California, Murrieta is an ideal place to call home and raise a family. With 53 parks in the city and ample trails and open space, Murrieta Mayor Lisa DeForest recognizes the important role that monarch butterflies and other pollinators play in our environment. By signing the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge, the City of Murrieta looks forward to engaging residents about this topic and providing resources to create more pollinator habitat throughout the city.
City of Mountain Park
Mountain Park, GA
Jim Still, Jr
Summary for 2023
Mountain Park is a small City of less than 800, a Wildlife Refuge and part of Tree City USA. We encourage our citizens to participate in growing milkweeds and protecting Monarch Butterflies. All year long and especially during yearly Earth Day celebrations, we make milkweed plants and milkweed seeds available. We encourage our citizens to NOT Grow the Common milkweed (asclepias syriaca) nor the Tropical or Scarlet Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica). Both are not native to Georgia and have the potential to escape from gardens and take over the habitats where our native milkweeds now grow! We have been planting and growing from seed NATIVE milkweed here in our Mountain Park Community Garden, right at City Hall and now also on the Mountain Park Green and along right of ways in the city proper starting in 2016.
