Lexington’s Monarchs Pledge

What is the Monarchs Pledge?

The Monarchs Pledge is a promise made by people, groups, and communities to help save monarch butterflies and their homes. It means doing things like planting milkweed and flowers they like, using fewer pesticides, and teaching others why monarchs are important. This pledge helps fight the problems monarchs face, like losing their homes, climate change, and harmful chemicals, by promoting good practices and fixing up their habitats.

The drastic decline in the monarch butterfly population is a serious problem for us all. Monarchs help pollinate plants and show us how healthy our environment is. If they continue to decline, it could negatively impact our food supply and the overall health of ecosystems. Monarchs also have cultural importance, symbolizing beauty and strength. When their numbers go down, we lose a part of our natural heritage and might even face economic problems. Saving monarchs is important for keeping nature diverse, supporting the services ecosystems provide, and preserving the cultural and aesthetic value they add to our lives.

Starting in 2021, every year our city’s mayor, Linda Gorton, signed the Monarch’s Pledge and agreed to take action items to help the conservation of Monarch butterflies, the list of action items can be found below.

What You Can Do to Help Monarchs!

  1. Plant Native Milkweed: Grow milkweed in your garden. Monarch caterpillars need it to survive!

  2. Grow Nectar-Rich Flowers: Add a variety of flowers that bloom at different times to provide food for adult monarchs all season long.

  3. Reduce Pesticide Use: Skip the pesticides and herbicides. They can harm monarchs and their habitats.

  4. Provide Water Sources: Place shallow dishes of water or wet sand in your garden for thirsty butterflies.

  5. Spread the Word: Educate friends and neighbors about the importance of protecting monarchs.

  6. Support Conservation Efforts: Donate to or volunteer with organizations working to conserve monarch habitats.

Action Items for 2024

Listed below are the action items that are currently being taken by our city’s mayor, Linda Gorton.

    • Issue a proclamation to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the species’ need for habitat. This proclamation must incorporate a focus on monarch conservation.

    • Launch or maintain a public communication effort to encourage residents to plant monarch gardens at their homes or in their neighborhoods. (If you have community members who speak a language other than English, we encourage you to also communicate in that language; Champion Pledges must communicate in that language.)

    • Engage with community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.

    • 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.

    • Engage with gardening leaders and partners (e.g., Master Naturalists, Master Gardeners, Nature Centers, Native Plant Society Chapters , other long-standing and influential community leaders) to support monarch butterfly conservation.

    • Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.

    • Facilitate or support a milkweed seed collection and propagation effort.

    • Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location.

    • Initiate or support community science (or citizen science) efforts that help monitor monarch migration and health.

    • Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar-producing plants in gardens in the community.

    • Launch, expand, or continue an invasive species removal program that will support the re-establishment of native habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

    • Host or support a monarch butterfly festival that is accessible to all residents in the community and promotes monarch and pollinator conservation, as well as cultural awareness and recognition.

    • Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat.

    • Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.