Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon, IA
Thomas Wieseler
Summary for 2024
Mt. Vernon has a slowly growing population of 5427 and is a community focusing on all things sustainable.
Ville de Saint-Césaire
Saint-Césaire, QC
Luc Forand
Summary for 2024
La Ville de Saint-Césaire a une population de 6000 habitants. Le territoire de Saint-Césaire est principalement dominé par la zone agricole qui occupe 95% de la municipalité. Elle est également riche de ses 200 ans d'histoire. La Ville compte 14 parcs et espaces verts.
Town of Braintree
BRAINTREE, MA
Erin Joyce
Summary for 2024
The Town of Braintree is a suburban community on the outskirts of the Metro Boston area and a gateway to Massachusetts’ South Shore. We are a community steeped in history with a growing and diverse population of 39,000, many who are lucky to take pride in generational hometown roots. The Town is nestled just east of Boston’s Blue Hills and tucked along the edge of the Atlantic’s Fore River Basin providing for a temperate but sometimes unpredictable climate. Braintree’s Mayor, Erin Joyce, has committed to increasing the Town’s environmental stewardship footprint, notably in protecting pollinators and the monarch butterfly, by signing the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge in 2024. We look forward to using this opportunity to sprinkle more color in our gardens while raising awareness for creating and building pollinator-friendly habitats throughout our Town.
Town of Moraga
Moraga, CA
Teresa Onoda
Summary for 2024
The Town of Moraga is a semi-rural community nestled in the beautiful hillsides of the East Bay of Contra Costa County, California. Moraga's population is 17,692. In November 2020, the Moraga Garden Club launched the “Moraga for Monarchs” initiative which resulted in the installation of a 2,600 square foot Monarch Habitat and Demonstration Garden at Rancho Laguna Park. The garden includes native and fire-safe plants that flower between early spring and late fall each year and interpretive signage to educate the community. The project included significant fundraising efforts and countless volunteer hours. The Moraga for Monarchs initiative spanned over 15 months during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Community contributions included over 2,870 volunteer hours and donations exceeding $92,000. Community donations include in-kind donations from 27 businesses and monetary donations from 98 individual donors, 3 service clubs, 3 social clubs, 4 garden clubs, and 1 Moraga Foundation. The garden includes over 600 plants including 95 native and drought tolerant varieties to increase the habitat for monarch and pollinators.
Village of Flossmoor
Flossmoor, IL
Michelle Nelson
Summary for 2024
The Village of Flossmoor, a picturesque suburb of Chicago with just under 10,000 residents, is proud to combine its vibrant history with a strong commitment to environmental sustainability. Known for its tree-lined streets, historic homes, excellent schools, diverse and inclusive population, extensive sculpture garden, and sprawling parks, Flossmoor is dedicated to advancing green initiatives through its active Green Commission. In 2024, Flossmoor celebrated its Centennial year with events that honored our past while emphasizing the importance of a sustainable future. As part of these celebrations, we distributed over 100 milkweed plants during our summer Chamber Night event, encouraging residents to create pollinator-friendly spaces in their yards. The Village also partnered with Homewood-Flossmoor High School to support its organic garden. The garden features native plants, including milkweed, which provide critical habitats for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. This collaboration fosters biodiversity while offering students hands-on learning opportunities about conservation and sustainable practices. Flossmoor’s ongoing environmental efforts include replacing the village’s tree canopy by planting hundreds of trees annually, hosting an annual recycling event, maintaining a free seed library, discouraging vehicle idling, and using native plantings in newly landscaped public areas. In 2022, the village installed a butterfly garden in a local park and planted over 400 parkway trees with the help of a generous grant and dedicated volunteers. In 2024, the Green Commission, the Mayor, and a local community group expanded the pollinator garden. Mayor Nelson remains committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators, continuing her leadership in signing the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. The Village looks forward to working closely with the Green Commission and residents to expand pollinator habitats and inspire environmental stewardship throughout Flossmoor.
Town of Black Mountain
Black Mountain , NC
Mike Sobol
Summary for 2024
The town of Black Mountain is along a major fall migration route for the monarch butterfly on their journey South across the Blue Ridge Mountains towards Mexico. We have thousands pass through our town and public parks during last week of September and/or 1st week of October annually. In 2015 we created our 1st Monarch Waystation in a 10 acre field in our Veterans Park that is right along the migration route to make an inviting place for monarchs to stop to fuel up with nectar from native aster and goldenrod on their journey. This field as over 500 common milkweed plants where monarchs also lay eggs April through June each spring and is filled with purple clover which seems to be one of their favorite sources of nectar locally.
Village of Oakwood Hills
Oakwood Hills, IL
Chad Rider
Summary for 2024
The Village of Oakwood HIlls is a small community of approximately 2000 residents. We have a committee of elected officials that are responsible for our local park. Through volunteers there is a butterfly garden located in our park which is regularly maintained.
Nunda Township
Crystal Lake, IL
Mike Shorten
Summary for 2024
Nunda Township is located in northern Illinois with a population of approximately 38,0000. The township has committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators with the signing of the Mayor's Monarch Pledge and looks forward to engaging residents in building more pollinator habitats throughout the city and within the grounds of the township.
City of Tempe
Tempe, AZ
Corey Woods
Summary for 2024
Tempe, Arizona, is about 40 square miles nestled in the greater Phoenix metro area, all within the Sonoran Desert. Tempe is home to about 185,000+ residents, and with those residents, the city has embarked on a multifaceted approach to nurture and encourage monarch butterfly and other pollinator populations. Tempe collaborates with local environmental organizations, ASU, and the community through a variety of interventions, including: educational programs, plantings in public spaces and gardens, and future inclusion in city plans. With unwavering dedication, Tempe serves as a shining example of how urban areas can actively contribute to the conservation of monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
City of Pasadena
Pasadena, CA
Victor M. Gordo
Summary for 2024
The City of Pasadena with nearly 145, 000 residents is a diverse city that borders the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and is not far from downtown Los Angeles. The unique location is both a bustling city and home to a large number of native wildlife. The collision of city life and wildlife is best known in Pasadena as the Wild Urban Interface (WUI.) In 2006 the city adopted a Green and Sustainable Community Action Plan called The Green Action Plan. The plan is popular with residents, business owners, and local non-profits who notoriously take action to help guide the City towards sustainability and environmental commitment. Mayor Victor Gordo has committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators by signing the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge. Inline with the current goals The City of Pasadena proudly continues to add native pollinator habitat through community projects supported by Mayor Gordo.
