Village President Ben Sells and Village Trustees signed the National Wildlife Federation’s Monarch Pledge and declared June 15, 2017 as Monarch Pledge Day in Riverside.
Some facts about Monarch Butterflies:
- The monarch butterfly is the official state insect of Illinois and an iconic American species whose multigenerational migration and metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly has captured the imagination of millions of Americans.
- There has been a rapid decline of the monarch due to habitat loss as a result of development, land management practices, and chemically-aided agriculture.
- Twenty years ago, more than one billion Eastern monarch butterflies migrated to Mexico, but in the winter of 2015, only 56.5 million made the trip.
- Conservation organizations such as the National Wildlife Federation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have undertaken efforts to reinvigorate native milkweed to help restore monarch habitat in open spaces and suburban and urban gardens.
- Riverside can make a difference for the monarch by planting native milkweed and nectar plants to provide habitat for the monarch and other pollinators.
- The Village of Riverside, Riverside Parks & Recreation, Riverside Public Library and Riverside School District 96, are incorporating monarch-friendly plants, especially milkweed within the Village landscape.