What Are the Monarch Awards?
The Monarch Awards recognize gardeners who want their yards to do more than look beautiful — to provide habitat, support pollinators, nourish birds, and build biodiversity right in our neighbourhoods. Four levels of achievement are recognized: Good Start, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, and Monarch, with every level celebrated through certificates, garden signs, or plaques.
Supporting Hamilton’s Environmental Goals
The Monarch Awards align directly with two of Hamilton’s most important environmental commitments. The City’s Biodiversity Action Plan is a multi-partner, five-year plan of actions to protect, enhance, explore and restore biodiversity in Hamilton and ecological front yard gardens are a tangible, resident-driven contribution to exactly that goal. As the BAP recognizes, biodiversity is interconnected, and even the smallest spaces in a city can provide habitat and connections for local plants, insects and wildlife. At the same time, in 2019 the City of Hamilton declared a Climate Change Emergency and set a goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Ecological gardens support that commitment too — native plantings sequester carbon, manage stormwater, filter air, and reduce the need for energy-intensive lawn maintenance. Every Monarch Awards garden is a small but meaningful piece of Hamilton’s climate resilience.
Ecological Gardening Is a Journey
One of the things we love most about this program is that gardens at every stage of the journey are welcome to participate. The award levels are designed to honour progress, not perfection. Gardeners who have previously received a Good Start, Caterpillar, or Chrysalis award are encouraged to apply again as their garden evolves and grows — working their way along until they achieve the Monarch Award.
Who Is Eligible?
To apply, gardeners must rent or own a home within the municipality of Hamilton and have a front yard garden that supports nature. Applications are open to residents across all Hamilton wards, and we hope to see participation from every corner of the city.
Applications open May 15, 2026, at haltonmastergardeners.com/events/monarch-awards. The online application takes about 20 minutes. The Monarch Awards Team will make garden visits between July 13 – August 23 — gardeners do not need to be present.
The closing date for award applications is June 26th.
Recipients will be announced in September 2026, with presentations made at a final celebration in October.
Brad Clark Report 
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