Chamblee recognized as Monarch Champions

The city of Chamblee and Chamblee Mayor Brian Mock have been honored by the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Mayors’ Monarch Pledge program as a ‘Monarch Champion’, recognizing their remarkable commitment to monarch conservation.

According to the NWF’s website, the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge is a commitment from mayors and other heads of local and tribal government to act in helping to save the monarch butterfly, a species whose eastern populations have declined by 90 percent and western populations by 99 percent in recent years. Through the pledge, cities, municipalities, and other communities are committing to create habitats for the monarch butterfly and pollinators, and to educate residents about how they can make a difference at home and in their community.

The honor of ‘Monarch Champion’ is reserved for pledge signatories that adopt 24 or more of the specialized actions suggested by the organization to support the declining species.

“The National Wildlife Federation is thrilled to award Chamblee with the Monarch Champion status for 2025,” stated Sydney Dooley, community habitat manager at the NWF. “This year alone, Chamblee engaged community garden groups to plant native, converted a two-acre vacant lot into monarch habitat, and gave away 250 milkweed plants to members of the community. Chamblee has become tremendous leaders for monarch conservation, and we are honored to work with them on this effort.”

Chamblee’s Public Works Department partnered with Keep Chamblee Beautiful, Georgia Native Plant Society and others to achieve Monarch Champion status. In 2025, the city maintained all existing butterfly gardens and habitats while expanding partnerships that increased their reach to underserved residents.

According to the release, Chamblee created bilingual educational displays for city events and schools, collaborated with a developer to replace non-native landscaping with native plantings, and advanced a monarch-themed public art project with Spanish-speaking communities.

“Through new partnerships, bilingual education, and native plant restoration, 2025 showed what a community can achieve—culminating in the joy of finding monarch caterpillars flourishing on city land for the first time,” said Lori Conway, Public Works Grounds & Greenspace manager, who serves as the staff point of contact on this program.

“This recognition as a Monarch Champion reflects the commitment of our entire community,” said Mock. “When we support pollinators, we support our parks, our neighborhoods, and the natural beauty that makes Chamblee special.”