City of Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM
Alan Webber
Summary for 2022
The City of Santa Fe became a Bee City, USA in 2021. The City also became a Tree City, USA, created a TreeSmart Santa Fe Initiative and created a Bees, Trees and Water Campaign. All of these efforts support pollinator habitats which includes the Monarch butterfly. In 2021, a pollinator resource guide was developed in coordination with the Xerces Society and a pollinator day was held at the Railyard Conservancy Park in May where native seeds were given away. In 2021, Xerces pollinator kits were planted in three different demonstration gardens. Milkweed was planted in support of the Monarch in all of those gardens including a new city Raingarden. An education resource booklet was completed in 2021 that had several outdoor activities focused on pollinator habitats and a new pollinator resource section was created as part of the Bees, Trees and Water campaign on www.savewatersantafe.com. In 2022, the City plans on sponsoring another Pollinator Day in May, where several departments and community organizations will talk about their pollinator work. The City is also working on the completion of a Pollinator Garden at Calle Alvarado Park, which will be completed in fall of 2022. The project is a collaboration of Keep Santa Fe Beautiful, the City Parks Department, the MASTERS Program Charter High School, City of Santa Fe Water Conservation and the Xerces Society. Keep Santa Fe Beautiful was awarded a $25,000 grant from the New Mexico Tourism Department to create a pollinator garden in Calle Alvarado Park. The pollinator garden will include 5 trees and 32 (1 gallon) pollinator plants, a Bee sculpture –made with recycled material and an interpretive sign.
Chicago's 33rd ward
Chicago, IL
Rossana Rodiguez- Sanchez
Summary for 2022
The 33rd Ward in Chicago is located in the City's Northwest side, surrounded by Forest preserves, community farms, and community monarch gardens. We commit to engage and expand education about the importance of monarch butterflies and other pollinators in our region, and to create community engagement opportunities to expand access to materials, education, and green space to continue protecting out ecosystem.
Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Pam Hemminger
Summary for 2022
Chapel Hill is a town of 60,000 residents which is located in the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina. Home to the state’s flagship public university, UNC-Chapel Hill, the town is known for its inclusive and progressive values including its longstanding support of environmental causes. In fact, one of the Town’s highest priority areas is environmental stewardship, including commitments to reduce carbon footprint, to improve local waterways and conserve biological ecosystems, and to invest in green infrastructure and build community resilience. Mayor Pam Hemminger of Chapel Hill, NC has committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators with her signing of the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge and looks forward to engaging residents in building more pollinator habitat throughout the town.
City of Coralville
Coralville, IA
Meghann Foster
Summary for 2022
Coralville, Iowa is a community of just under 23,000 people. Since 2013, we have been selecting 3-5 acres per year to either convert to prairie with special attention to pollinator plants, or reinforcing existing planting areas with pollinator habitat plant species. In addition, we have made changes to our requests from local developers in plant species to create pollinator habitat in every new development in Coralville. We estimate that we've created or reinforced approximately sixty acres to date.
City of Rochester
Rochester, MN
Kim Norton
Summary for 2022
Rochester, MN is a growing city in the north central part of the United States. We are a town of approximately 120,000 and the third largest city in Minnesota. We do have strategies in our Sustainability & Resiliency Plan that align with some of the action items suggested and our Sustainability Coordinator is excited to assist in this area. Many of the action items are already in the works under the guidance of our Environmental Education Specialist and City Parks Department Forester, too. We are all excited about continuing to make improvements that will support the Monarch!
City of Alexandria
Alexandria , VA
Justin Wilson
Summary for 2022
The City of Alexandria embraces sustainability of all types, particularly that of pollinators, and with a deep appreciation to their contributions to environmental soundness. This pledge demonstrates our ongoing and focused commitment to preservation of natural wonders and their role for all life organisms.
Town of Garner
Garner, NC
ken Marshburn
Summary for 2022
Garner is a town of approximately 36,000 people located in Wake County and just seven miles from our Capitol City of Raleigh, NC We have an active and expanding Parks System which includes a passive park at Lake Benson and a nature park in an adjacent location. Our Town has recently acquired additional land in excess of 100 acres which will allow us to increase recreational space and also expand our trails and greenways. We were recently challenged to take the Monarch Pledge by a letter writing campaign from a local elementary school.
City of Dana Point
Dana Point, CA
Joe Muller
Summary for 2022
The City of Dana Point is a beachside community in southern California that is home to over 30,000 residents. Dana Point is named after author/adventurer Richard Henry Dana Jr. who described the area as the "only romantic spot on the coast" in his book Two Years Before the Mast. Dana Point has long been a stop over for the western Monarch Butterfly during their migration, so much so that one of our coastal communities is called Monarch Beach. The City has committed to creating Monarch habitat throughout the community to ensure that Monarch butterflies continue to have a place to rest, relax or call home in Dana Point.
City of West Hollywood
West Hollywood, CA
Lauren Meister
Summary for 2022
The City of West Hollywood was officially incorporated in 1984. At approximately 1.9 square miles and 35,000 residents, the City maintains eight public parks and one community garden. The city has an overall walkability score of 91. West Hollywood is located in the heart of metropolitan Los Angeles County and has earned a reputation for being “the creative city” with its progressive approach to local government including many critical social movements and its commitment to protect of our environment and combat climate change. Mayor Lauren Meister has committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators with the signing of the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge and looks forward to engaging with community members in building more pollinator habitats throughout the city.
City of Verona
Verona, WI
Luke Diaz
Summary for 2022
The city of Verona is in Dane County Wisconsin, with a population of around 14,000. The city of Verona is situated at the crossing of two trails: The Military Ridge Trail and the Ice Age Trail. Mayor Diaz of Verona, Wisconsin, an avid native plant gardener, has championed conservation efforts throughout the city. Mayor Diaz has also committed to making sure Verona does its part by signing the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge and looks forward to expanding the use of native plants in Verona.
