Town of Black Mountain
Black Mountain , NC
Larry Harris
Summary for 2022
Town of Black Mountain - Monarch Conservation Actions – 2021 - Engaged with community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants at the Dr. Wilson Community Garden - Maintained native milkweed and nectar producing plants in public community gardens at the Dr. Wilson Community Garden under the leadership of Dianna McCall. Numerous gardeners have milkweed, tithonia, zinnia, etc. in their personal plots and there are common areas that have over 50 common milkweed plants and native wildflowers. - Engaged with city parks and recreation and public works to revise and maintain mowing programs around the monarch lifecycle in areas with milkweed, which include 10 acres of the field/disk golf course at Veterans Park with over 300 common milkweed plants. - Planted and maintained a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at the Black Mountain Public Library. We now have 4 locations on town property that are maintained as pollinator gardens or meadow totaling over 1 acre. In addition to the 500 sq ft garden at the library, these include a 400 foot long strip section along Village Greenway, a ¾ acre meadow at Veterans park, and a 1,000 sq ft slope meadow at Lake Tomahawk. - Worked with the local schools to plant milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants in public right of way in median along Village Way, between Primary and Elementary school on the section adjacent to the Black Mountain Greenway. Black Mountain Elementary students are growing flowers from seed to be added to the garden in 2022. - Initiated and supported community science (or citizen science) efforts that help monitor monarch migration and health by conducting a monarch monitoring program through the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project. Over 10 volunteers helped to count monarch caterpillars in both spring and fall of 2021. - Displayed educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat at our Monarch waystations at Lake Tomohawk and Veterans Park. We will be working on new signage in 2022. - Pollinator Garden Coordinator, Emily Sampson held two educational public events (spring and fall) that focused on understanding the monarch lifecycle, the importance of pollinator conservation, and included discussion of how to create pollinator spaces on both public and private property.
Town of Ossining
Ossining, NY
Dana Levenberg
Summary for 2022
Town of Ossining is a predominantly residential community in Westchester County, New York. With six large parks, including one on the banks of the beautiful Hudson river, an organic community garden, passive trails and other natural assets, the Town is committed to protecting natural habitats, planting native species, reducing invasive plants and trees, and enhancing our natural resources. By taking the Mayor's Monarch Pledge we have committed to actively planting species that attract monarchs as well as other pollinators and support other policies and programs to educate and encourage these plantings throughout the Town.
East Bradford Township
West Chester, PA
John Snook
Summary for 2022
East Bradford Township is in central Chester County, PA, adjacent to the county seat of West Chester. East Bradford was the first municipality in PA to opt to create a dedicated open space tax to preserve open space, and in partnership with local land trusts has permanently protected several thousand acres of open space in the heart of Chester County, amounting to some 40% of the Township land mass. East Bradford also has significant natural resource protection standards for woodlands, riparian buffers, steep slopes and floodplains which protect another 20% of the Township land mass from development.
Town of Goshen
Goshen, UT
Steven Staheli
Summary for 2022
Goshen Utah is a small community south of Utah Lake adjacent to many federal and state wetland. I personally have a small patch of milkweed on my property that I let grow freely to encourage habitat. This patch is one that I’ve watched with interest for Monarchs since I was a kid.
City of Fort Atkinson
Fort Atkinson , WI
Rebecca Houseman-LeMire
Summary for 2022
The City of Fort Atkinson is a vibrant community located along the Rock River, a few miles upstream from Lake Koshkonong, in Jefferson County. Fort Atkinson is the largest city located entirely in the county. The City has participated in No Mow May for the last two years to encourage the survival of pollinators. The City is working with a group called Heart of the City, which works to make the City of Fort Atkinson a better place.
Hillsborough Township
Hillsborough, NJ
Shawn Lipani
Summary for 2022
Hillsborough Township is a 54 square mile community in Somerset county New Jersey blessed with farm land , rolling hills and the Sourland Mountains. Hillsborough's dedication to the environment and sustainability is constantly recognized as on of the leaders in the state by numerous awards and certifications. We are proud to support the Monarch Butterfly campaign and urge other to follow.
Port Huron Charter Township
Port Huron, MI
BENITA DAVIS
Summary for 2022
Port Huron Township is located in S.E. Michigan and we are just a few miles west of the Sarnia Ontario Canada border. Our population is just under 11,000. We have a good mix of residential neighborhoods, industrial, and commercial business districts. We have several parks and many acres of wetlands and wooded areas. At least 2 of our parks have acreage that has remained natural and we work to keep it undisturbed for its' inhabitants.
City of Greenbelt
Greenbelt, MD
Emmett Jordan
Summary for 2022
The City of Greenbelt is a municipality of approximately 23,000 people located just outside of Washington D.C. in Prince George's County, Maryland. The City has actively pursued opportunities to support and maintain pollinators and pollinator habitat over the years. Greenbelt has recently been certified as a Bee City USA affiliate with the Xerces Society and has taken steps to improve and create new pollinator habitat. Mayor Jordan of Greenbelt will be looking to continue with these endeavors in the year to come.
Salida
Salida, CO
Dan Shore
Summary for 2022
Salida is a town of approximately 6,000 residents and is situated in Central Colorado. The Arkansas River runs through town and we are surrounded by 14000 foot mountains. We are taking the pledge because of our commitment to protecting our natural habitat for current and future generations and because of our community's deep connection to the Monarch Butterfly.
City of Seaside
Seaside, CA
Ian Oglesby
Summary for 2022
Seaside is a diverse, growing coastal city with beautiful panoramic views of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Seaside’s miles of recreational trails, thousands of acres of open space, distinguished schools, and nationally renowned golf courses all contribute to the highest quality of life that is expected in California. Seaside celebrates the natural beauty of the community while also working to stimulate economic growth, and therefore has adopted the Mayor's Monarch Pledge and staff has identified six actions that the City will be able to commit to initiating throughout the year: 1. Issue a Proclamation to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the species’ need for habitat. 2. Launch or maintain a public communication effort to encourage residents to plant monarch gardens at their homes or in their neighborhoods. 3. Engage with community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants. 4. 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. 5. Create a community art project to enhance and promote monarch and pollinator conservation as well as cultural awareness and recognition. 6. Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat.
