Environment

'No Mow May' asks for shaggy lawns until bees, butterflies emerge

May 12, 2022, 7:37 AM

Everyone likes a newly green spring lawn. But mowing early can deprive pollinators like bees and butterfiles of essential early-season shelter and forage. So two Southeast Michigan cities are asking residents to let that early growth go for now, during "No Mow May." 

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Let it grow during No Mow May. (File photo)

Ann Arbor and Royal Oak are supporting the initiative by temporarily suspending ordinances requiring property owners to keep lawns mown to a particular height. 

The Free Press reports:

The initiative began in the United Kingdom in 2019, reports Popular Science, and has garnered increasing support in the States over the last couple of years. It was instituted to address threats to pollinators on an international scale, which range from habitat loss to climate change to use of pesticides.

Without pollinators, the human food supply chain crumbles: Fruit, vegetables, nuts and even many dairy and meat products depend on the tiny critters. Pollinators are particularly crucial to native plant species, which have evolved to depend on bees and butterflies to help them reproduce.

...Participation in No Mow May is pretty self-explanatory — just hold off on cutting your lawn for the month.

Bee boosters can continue the good work beyond May by mowing less often, and curbing the use of sprays (herbicides and pesticides). More information is at Bee City USA


Read more:  Detroit Free Press


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