Community Profile

City of Cuyahoga Falls

Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Don Walters

Mayor

Pledge Summary

The City of Cuyahoga Falls is located in northeast Ohio, with a population of over 50,000. Nestled along the Cuyahoga River, Cuyahoga Falls is a rich source of biodiversity, history, and recreational opportunities. The city boasts over a dozen public parks alongside various community, rain, and pollinator gardens. Businesses and residents are deeply committed to sustainability and environmentalism initiatives. The city pledges to provide adequate resources and opportunities to move forward in a more environmentally-friendly way. Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters is committing to focusing on saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators through his signing of the Mayor Monarch Pledge. He looks forward to engaging residents and other community members through educational outreach efforts and other resources to help make the city more pollinator-friendly and conscious.

Community Spotlight

Action Items Committed for 2023

Communications and Convening ▸

Create a community-driven educational conservation strategy that focuses on and benefits local, underserved residents.
Engage with Homeowners Associations (HOAs), Community Associations or neighborhood organizations to identify opportunities to plant monarch gardens and revise maintenance and mowing 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.
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.

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 milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants in medians and public rights-of-way.
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.

Systems Change ▸

Increase the percentage of native plants, shrubs and trees that must be used in city landscaping ordinances and encourage use of milkweed, where appropriate.

Past Pledge Archive

Mayor Name	Program Year	Pledge Date	Achievement
Mayor Don Walters	2023	3/31/2023		View Pledge
Mayor Don Walters	2022	3/9/2022		View Pledge

The National Wildlife Federation

Pledge Status

Pledge Date

Program Year

Links and Uploads

Action Item Report