It's No Mow May!

It’s No Mow May!

Time to help out the pollinators where we can!

By a show of hands, who loves bees? 🐝

Ok, seeing a lot of hands... now who loves dandelions?

Noticed several hands dropping there…

We have just entered No Mow May, where - in support of biodiversity - we abandon our Spring chore of mowing the lawn until the end of the month. Some folks are more than happy to just sit back and watch it grow, while enjoying this warmer weather (we're getting there!). Others may be saying, "but... the dandelions...", and for those, we have a couple points we'd like to share:

1. Bees, and other pollinators, LOVE dandelions! and it’s one of their first foods, so… we kinda have to learn to love ‘em too if we want to help bees out! Pollinators have been suffering because of many things, but habitat loss is one we can certainly help with!
2. We have all been duped about dandelions. Not only are they super helpful for bees, every part of this flower can be eaten and has beneficial properties for humans. And if we let them grow, there's more than enough to go around!

Dandelions aside, some may cringe at the idea of unkempt lawns, and for those people, it can help to either designate a growing patch, rotate your mowing/growing areas, or just mow less frequently. A study in England showed that changing a mowing routine and allowing plants to flower can create enough nectar for 10 times more pollinators! It found that longer lawns supported more plant diversity, and lawns that were mowed once a month produced more flowers, such as clover. Every bit is helpful!

This can also be a fun science experiment to find out what other native plant species are hiding in your lawn and which pollinators enjoy them. There are about 6.2 million lawns in Canada - one of the largest green spaces in urban areas. Imagine the impact "doing nothing" could have! In order to keep wilderness alive, we're going to have to re-wild a little! 🐝🐞🦋

Another great idea, of course, is to forego your lawn all together and turn it into an edible garden which benefits you AND pollinators! 🐝🥕🥬🌻

Sources: natureconservancy.ca, plantlife.org.uk