The National Wildlife Federation

Community Profile

Pledge Status

Active

Pledge Date

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Program Year

2023

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Action Item Report

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Hastings-on-Hudson

Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

Nicola Armacost

Mayor

Pledge Summary

The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson is located in New York State, about 20 miles north of midtown Manhattan, and has a population of about 8,500. It is situated on the banks of the Hudson River and boasts exceptional views of the dramatic geological bluffs known as the Palisades. It has a charming, bucolic character, over 85% of its open space is dedicated parkland and it has a significant trail network. It also has active pollinator pathway and “Adopt-a- Spot” programs that engage and educate residents about the importance of biodiversity, native plants and pollinators. The Mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson, Nicola Armacost, has committed to protecting the monarch butterfly and other pollinators by signing the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge and encourages residents to continue building pollinator habitat throughout the municipality.

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Community Spotlight

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Five Corners Garden

A vacant lot was converted into a monarch habitat by a group of local volunteers in 2021. It is located at "Five Corners" in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, where Chauncey Lane and Broadway intersect, adjacent to the Old Croton Aqueduct trail.

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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 developers, planners, landscape architects, and other community leaders and organizers engaged in planning processes to identify opportunities to create monarch habitat.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Convert vacant lots to monarch habitat.
  • 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

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