If you’ve been thinking about breaking out your lawnmower, please reconsider… at least for now. The month of May is just around the corner, which means that the No Mow May movement is upon us. What’s No Mow May? May is a critical month for pollinators that are looking for food sources that are not yet abundant. As the first flowers start popping up (including dandelions), many people’s first instinct is to mow them down. Unfortunately, the process of mowing a lawn, along with the flowers, means that bees and insects aren’t able to survive, let alone thrive.
Since 2019, the No Mow movement has been picking up speed. In fact, friends of the pollinators are now promoting No Mow May, Low Mow Spring, and even No Mow April for the pros. You can read about many of these new No Mow efforts on Bee City USA.
According to the site, “No Mow May was first popularized by Plantlife, an organization based in the United Kingdom, but is now gaining traction across North America. In 2020, residents of Appleton, Wisconsin, an affiliate of Bee City USA, became energized about No Mow May and they convinced their City Council to suspend their weed ordinance for the month of May. Over 435 registered property owners participated that year. Empowered by their success in 2020, the Appleton Bee City committee spread the word and attracted even more participants in 2021, and in 2022 it spread to communities across the country.”…