City of San Marcos
San Marcos, TX
Jane Hughson
Summary for 2022
San Marcos is a city in central Texas with a population of roughly 68,000. Located midway between Austin and San Antonio, San Marcos is a quickly growing community that is situated along a major migration route for many species including monarch butterflies. Our city has a direct impact on monarch populations as they move across this region each year. Mayor Hughson of San Marcos, TX has committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators with their signing of the Mayors' Monarch Pledge and looks forward to contributing to the enhancement and conservation of pollinator habitat throughout the city.
City of Peru
Peru, IN
Kathleen Plothow
Summary for 2022
Peru, Indiana is in NorthCentral Indiana. The population is approximately 11,500 and slowly growing. There are several garden clubs, some of these organizations are affiliated with Purdue University. There is a strong agricultural community within our County, Miami County, Indiana. Although there has not been an active environmental sustainability effort, one of my goals is to create a community garden.
Town of New Castle
Chappaqua, NY
Lisa Katz
Summary for 2022
As described in the Town of New Castle 2017 Comprehensive Plan, New Castle’s land area is comprised mainly of bucolic, low-density residential neighborhoods. Of the Town’s approximately 15,000 acres, 14,488 acres are zoned for single-family residential use, and of these, 91% (13,194 acres) have one- or two-acre minimum lot sizes. This low density residential development pattern, derived from the Town’s zoning, has helped to maintain scenic vistas, large lots, areas of open space quality, and forested and undisturbed swaths of land that characterize the Town’s neighborhoods. Preservation of the bucolic residential character of the community’s neighborhoods is a priority to New Castle’s residents, as reflected in our 5-Year Tree City USA designation from the Arbor Day foundation, and recent Bee City USA designation from the initiatives of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. A brief description of the The Town's on-going development programs which coincide with applicable Mayors Monarch Pledge & Action Items in parentheses include: -Town Board 2022 Proclamation in Honor of Monarch Butterflies unanimously passed 4/26/22 (Communication and Convening Item #1). -New Castle Garden Club Native Plant Sale 5/5 - 5/7, 2022 (Program & Demonstration Gardens Item #10). -Formation of volunteer group 'New Castle Vine Squad' in 2020; 2022 stewardship projects in concert with local Eagle Scout project at 2 Town Parks (Jean Craighead George & Bicenntenial) manually removed invasive vines from deciduous trees (sources of food for pollinators) in winter (Program & Demonstration Gardens Item #20). -New Castle Community Day September 2022 - New Castle Conservation Board to host monarch butterfly and pollinator conservation themed booth. To include Town poster highlighting existing registered Pollinator Pathway properties AND facilitate recruitment of other property owners (Program & Demonstration Gardens Item #21). -Town Park Glazier Preserve - beginning in 2022, a private organic landscape company has been hired to perform maintenance practices to maintain a designed and installed meadow adjacent the park entrance by performing a single annual mow event in early spring. Lack of active maintenance since the last mow event in 2019 to accommodate tree planting at the meadows periphery, indicates the meadow habitat will transition to successional shrublands and resemble the dense shrub thicket immediately adjacent two borders of said meadow. Also planned is invasive species removal of a linear tract of mugwort bordering the meadow adjacent a park trail (Systems Change Item #24).
Town of Kernersville
Kernersville, NC
Dawn Morgan
Summary for 2022
Kernersville is in Forsyth and Guilford Counties in North Carolina in the Piedmont Triad region. Our community is committed to educational efforts and habitat preservation.
City of St. Augustine
St. Augustine, FL
Tracy Upchurch
Summary for 2022
Founded in 1565, St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin in the United States. Forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, the Spanish established at St. Augustine this nation's first enduring settlement.
Village of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire, IL
Elizabeth Brandt
Summary for 2022
The Village of Lincolnshire is located in southeast Lake County, approximately 34 miles from downtown Chicago. The Village encompasses 4.58 square miles and has a population of approximately 7,900 residents. The Village is committed to monarch and pollinator education and conservation.
City of Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, IA
Tiffany O'Donnell
Summary for 2022
Cedar Rapids is the second-largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River and has a population of approximately 126,326. Cedar Rapids is happy to take part in this pledge and is committed to participating in environmental initiatives that help with monarch and pollinator conservation.
City of Kingsport, TN
Kingsport, TN
Patrick Shull
Summary for 2022
Keep Kingsport Beautiful in conjunction with The City of Kingsport are educating citizens on the importance of Monarchs and pollinators and are directly promoting the installation of high quality pollinator habitats.
City of Akron
Akron, OH
Daniel Horrigan
Summary for 2022
The City of Akron, a gateway to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, sits along a major watershed divide between the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Out waterways, parks, historic canalways, ledges, neighborhood and community gardens, and public green infrastructure provide ample opportunities for prioritizing pollinator habitats. The City recently passed legislation revising our noxious weed ordinance to allow for the growth of milkweed, common daisies and other native plants to facilitate those opportunities. We have partnered with organizations such as Let’s Grow Akron to provide public educational opportunities on milkweed and milkweed propagation. We have hosted milkweed seed giveaways at Ward meetings. In addition, we have and will continue to provide public educational opportunities through our Akron Waterways Renewed program on pollinators and their habitat. Our green infrastructure programs incorporate pollinator habitat in our designs and maintenance of those stormwater features. We couple those installations with associated public education. Our annual Blue Heron Homecoming event will feature rain garden kits and a tree giveaway coupled with educational demonstrations and hands-on activities related to pollinator and caring for their habitat.
City of Pleasant Ridge
Pleasant Ridge, MI
Bret Scott
Summary for 2022
Pleasant Ridge is a city in southeast Michigan about two miles north of Detroit. Roughly 75 percent of America’s incorporated places have a population of less than 5,000 people, and with about 2,500 residents, we understand the importance that small towns like Pleasant Ridge play in bringing national initiatives to life. Although we sit in the middle of a densely populated region, southeast Michigan has an incredible amount of natural beauty, and like many of our neighboring communities, we take pride in our efforts to maintain and preserve our natural settings and their inhabitants. Helping save the monarch butterfly and other pollinators fits this mission, and Mayor Scott of Pleasant Ridge is pleased to sign the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge. He looks forward to engaging with residents on expanding our pollinator habitats throughout the city.
