The Mayor's Monarch Pledge

"The Mayor’s Monarch Pledge solidifies our dedication to creating, maintaining, and restoring habitat for the monarch butterfly while encouraging Ardsley residents to do the same. Major change happens through small individual acts. Join me in supporting endangered monarch butterflies through easy actions in your yard” — Mayor Nancy Kaboolian

The Mayor's Monarch Pledge

Beginning with Mayor Nancy Kaboolian, the Village of Ardsley and the Ardsley Pollinator Pathway committed to the National Wildlife Federation’s “Mayor’s Monarch Pledge” by working to create and enhance enhance habitat for pollinating insects and to educate and encourage the greater community to support this initiative.

The monarch butterfly lives and reproduces in Ardsley and the surrounding area during the summer and migrates through our region twice annually. This species and other beneficial insects need native habitat to rest, refuel and lay eggs for the next generation. As pollinators, they make it possible for plants to produce food needed to feed people and wildlife. Due to the demise of its population as a result of native habitat loss and increased use of pesticides, the beautiful monarch has emerged as an ambassador species bringing awareness to the fragility of natural ecosystems and the need for urban support.

Help us to help them.

What you can do:

1. 1. Plant milkweed in containers or in your garden. The best milkweed plants for a garden in full sun are: Swamp Milkweed (pink flowers, 3' tall) and Butterfly Milkweed (orange flowers, 2' tall). Common Milkweed (3' tall, pink flowers) is loved by Monarchs but can be aggressive in a small garden. Plant it in a sunny naturalized area. Milkweeds for partial sun are Whorled Milkweed and Poke Milkweed.

   2. Provide nectar plants preferred by monarchs that bloom from spring until fall. Plant annuals such as zinnias, marigolds and cosmos.

   3. Make things easy and just follow the step-by-step instructions in our Monarch Mailbox Garden guide.

   4. Don't use insecticides - they kill all insects, including monarch butterflies, and negatively affect birds.

   5. When purchasing any plant, make sure it has not been treated with Neonicotinoids (neonics), a systemic pesticide that stays in the plant for years and kills insects that feed on the leaves, pollen or nectar of the plant. Ask before purchasing a plant or seeds, or purchase from native plant nurseries who say they are neonic free.