Watertown Renews the Mayors' Monarch Pledge!

Linda Relson • January 7, 2024

Thank you to our city manager, George Proakis, for signing on for a second year of the Mayors' Monarch Pledge!  And we cannot forget our many friends at City Hall, including

  • Laurel Schwab, Senior Environmental Planner
  • Katie Swan, Environmental Planner/Conservation Agent
  • Bob DiRico, Parks/Cemetery Supervisor
  • Gideon Schreiber, Assistant Director of Planning

  • 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.)
  • Display educational signage at monarch gardens and pollinator habitat.
  • Launch, expand, or continue an invasive species removal program that will support the re-establishment of native habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
  • Initiate or support community science (or citizen science) efforts that help monitor monarch migration and health.
  • Host or support a monarch neighborhood challenge to engage neighborhoods and homeowners' associations within the community to increase awareness, support community unity around a common mission, and/or create habitat for the monarch butterfly.
  • Plant milkweed and pollinator-friendly native nectar plants in medians and public rights-of-way .
  • Increase the percentage of native plants, shrubs and trees that must be used in city landscaping ordinances and encourage use of milkweed, where appropriate.

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Seeking a Volunteer Social Media Manager

June 3, 2026
Do you enjoy storytelling, community engagement, and helping good work reach more people? WCG is looking for a volunteer Social Media Manager to help share the energy and impact of our community with a wider audience.  This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys creating engaging posts, building community, and supporting local environmental and community initiatives.
People gathered outdoors around a table in a park, chatting near a path and leafless trees.

“Greening the streets” one planting strip at a time, part 1

May 30, 2026
by Marilyn Salvas and Melinda Dennis
Friends of Bees logo

Watertown Community Gardens Welcomes Friends of Bees!

May 19, 2026
by Pam Phillips  As you may know, for the last several years, Friends of Bees, a working group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment (WCPJE) , have been meeting and collaborating with WCG’s Pollinator Pathways Committee. Together we have held the Life-Friendly Garden Tour, maintained public pollinator gardens, led pollinator walks, and more. Together we support Watertown's Mayor's Monarch Pledge . Together, we educate about and advocate for our native bees, Monarch butterflies and other pollinators. This year, Friends of Bees are making that togetherness official by merging with the Pollinator Pathways Committee. Twelve years ago, Watertown Citizens asked “What is happening to the bees?” and formed a new working group, Friends of Bees. Friends of Bees learned about the many challenges bees face, especially pesticides and habitat loss. Today, we welcome Friends of Bees to a new home with Watertown Community Gardens. The Life-Friendly Garden Tour, with its rich history of 28 chemical-free garden tours over nearly twenty years, will also be hosted by WCG. WCPJE has always served as an incubator for community groups. Over the years, many initiatives started and fostered under WCPJE later matured into independent organizations expanding the circle of like minded activists. Watertown Community Gardens was one such group. Friends of Bees thanks WCPJE for an abundance of enthusiasm and support as we branch off, while maintaining our role in the larger Watertown community. To stay in touch with Friends of Bees and the Life-Friendly Garden Tour please visit Watertown Community Gardens at our new website . When you sign up for the WCG newsletter , make sure to indicate your interest in pollinators and eco gardening. Details of the 2026 Life-Friendly Garden Tour will be shared in the WCG newsletter this summer. Keep buzzing!

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