Village council backs pollinator program, asks staff to coordinate Mayor's Monarch pledge

The Wesley Chapel Village Council voted to work with Habitat Builders and the local chapter of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation to participate in the Butterfly Highway and the Mayor27s Monarch Pledge, a largely volunteer-based initiative that uses native plants to support pollinators.

Christina Kolb, director of Habitat Builders and a leader of the local North Carolina Wildlife Federation chapter, told the council the program is inexpensive to join and scales from a single plant to park-sized demonstration gardens. "All you need is a few native plants that are also pollinator plants," Kolb said, noting the group had created gardens at a local elementary school and a park and had tracked almost 5,100 pit stops across the state that together account for about 30,000 acres of habitat.

Kolb described the Mayor27s Monarch Pledge process: a mayor signs a proclamation between Dec. 1 and March 31, the jurisdiction completes three action items from the pledge27s list and files annual progress reports. She said the biggest cost is an optional sign (about $30) and emphasized volunteer and park-staff maintenance rather than ongoing municipal operating expense.

Council moved to have Habitat Builders coordinate the village27s participation in both programs; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Council members and staff agreed to receive the presenter27s slide deck and links for distribution to the council and to explore hosting volunteer events at village-owned sites, including a proposed pollinator garden at village property.