DuPage Monarch Project Recognizes Achievements for Protecting Pollinators

By Lonnie Morris

The loss of habitat is one of the primary causes of pollinator decline. Three award-winning projects found new ways of looking at the lack of habitat and came up with novel approaches for adding more and better natural areas for pollinators. 

DuPage County GIS Division Is the Pollinator Protector of the Year

Honey bees and native bees use the same flowers for food and provisioning their young. A new honey bee ordinance was passed by DuPage County in 2024 making it easier to be a beekeeper on residential land in unincorporated areas. More hives with thousands of worker bees increases the competition between honey bees and native bees for food and contributes to the decline of native bees. More floral resources are needed for supporting both honey and native bees.

Staff with the county’s GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Division created a pollinator habitat map which captures existing habitat. An online Hubsite allows public and private landowners to submit natural areas to the county-wide map. As more natural areas are added, a landscape-scale view of pollinator habitat in the county will emerge, making it possible to assess whether there is enough food for honey and native bees. It will also help identify the best places to add natural areas for filling gaps and making pollinator corridors.

The map is a new tool for protecting pollinators in DuPage County. It enables a broader perspective on pollinator conservation and is a pathway for collaborating on a problem that affects all of us. Communities working together to create a connected naturalized landscape will save what the American biologist E.O. Wilson called “the little things that run the world.”

Downers Grove’s Commitment to Natural Areas Earns Jane Foulser Pollinator Habitat Award

Over the years, the Village of Downers Grove has cultivated a culture of conservation that encompasses pollinator habitat, renewable energy, energy efficiency, active transportation, and protecting the night sky. The Village began using green infrastructure in 2012 for managing stormwater and improving water quality. A newly established stormwater utility included a public/private partnership with homeowners for converting roadside drainage ditches into beautiful and beneficial pollinator-friendly areas at no cost to the homeowner. The popular program funds ten bioswales each year and currently has a waiting list of 40 applicants.

The benefits realized by the Bioswale Program set the stage for continuing the use of native plantings in new projects like the recently completed Civic Center, which has rain gardens and native landscaping certified by Conservation@Work, a program of The Conservation Foundation.

An Environmental Sustainability Plan (ESP) adopted in 2025 continues the Village’s commitment to naturalized areas. It includes several pollinator-friendly goals and actions including identifying areas for native plantings, improving the biodiversity of parkway trees, and exploring ways of meeting Dark Sky Community Guidelines. There are also several suggested actions in the ESP for reducing a homeowner’s ecological footprint, including shrinking lawns and adding native landscaping.

Glen Ellyn Park District Receives the Pat Miller Community Engagement Award for Habitat Heroes

The Glen Ellyn Park District took the next step in pollinator conservation with Habitat Heroes, a volunteer citizen science initiative for monitoring butterflies and bees. Over the past two years, Chris Gutmann, Manager of Natural Areas & Outdoor Education, and Laurie Bellmar, Environmental Outreach Specialist, developed and tested survey protocols for counting the number of species and abundance of butterflies and bees found in areas planted and maintained as pollinator habitat.

In the summer of 2025, Chris and Laurie conducted a successful trial run with 18 volunteers. Habitat Heroes will be implemented at two parks in 2026. There are plans for conducting surveys in the upcoming years at all the parks with natural areas.

Pollinator habitat is a complex system of plants, pollinators, and weather interactions. When there is a limited amount of land available for new natural areas, it’s essential that the existing habitat provides high-quality forage. The data gathered by citizen scientists is the beginning of understanding how well the natural areas are achieving the goal of supporting bees and butterflies. It will be used to track changes from year to year and inform future land management decisions.