Community Profile

Town Of Middletown

Middletown, MD

John Miller

Burgess

Pledge Summary

Middletown is a small town of about 4,900 people located in the center of the fertile Middletown Valley in western Frederick County, MD. It is home to farms and natural environments that support our community and the natural species that live within it. Our Sustainability Committee recognized by Sustainable Maryland has worked diligently to raise awareness of the monarch butterfly and the species' need for habitat. Numerous efforts have been ongoing to help save them which include: our local golf course is working to preserve areas where milkweed grows, mowing patterns have been changed, a pollinator garden has been planted in a highly used park, and public communication efforts have ramped up. Join us in protecting habitat for our local monarch population!

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 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.
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.
Add or maintain native milkweed and nectar producing plants in community gardens.
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 ▸

Change ordinances so herbicides, insecticides, or other chemicals used in the community are not harmful to pollinators.
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
Burgess John Miller	2023	1/17/2023		View Pledge
Burgess John Miller	2022	12/13/2021	Leadership Circle	View Pledge
Burgess John Miller	2021	2/9/2021	Leadership Circle	View Pledge

The National Wildlife Federation

Pledge Status

Pledge Date

Program Year

Links and Uploads

Action Item Report