Community Profile

City of Rochester

Rochester, MI

Stuart Bikson

Mayor

Pledge Summary

The City of Rochester is working to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future for our community. We have committed to the Mayor's Monarch Pledge, a program that seeks to increase pollinator-friendly habitats in cities nationwide. We are taking steps to increase the number of pollinator-friendly plants and trees in our city parks, as well as providing educational opportunities for our citizens to learn about the importance of protecting pollinators. We are also working with our local schools to encourage the planting of pollinator-friendly plants in their gardens. Additionally, we are actively working to reduce the use of harmful pesticides, which are known to be detrimental to the Monarch Butterfly population. Finally, we are actively partnering with local organizations and businesses to restore and protect important Monarch Butterfly habitats in our city.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2023

Communications and Convening ▸

Issue a Proclamation to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the species’ need for habitat.
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.
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 community garden groups and urge them to plant native milkweeds and nectar-producing plants.
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.)

Program and Demonstration Gardens ▸

Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat.
Launch, expand, or continue an invasive species removal program that will support the re-establishment of native habitats for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar producing plants in community gardens.
Launch or maintain an outdoor education program(s) (e.g., at schools, after-school programs, community centers and groups) that builds awareness and creates habitat by engaging students, educators, and the community in planting native milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants (i.e., National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA Schoolyard Habitats program and Monarch Mission curriculum).
Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location.
Facilitate or support a milkweed seed collection and propagation effort.
Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.

Past Pledge Archive

Mayor Name	Program Year	Pledge Date	Achievement
Mayor Stuart Bikson	2023	2/17/2023		View Pledge
Mayor Stuart Bikson	2022	1/18/2022	Monarch Champions	View Pledge

The National Wildlife Federation

Pledge Status

Pledge Date

Program Year

Links and Uploads

Action Item Report