NO MOW MAY: SUSTAINABLE SARATOGA JOINS NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO SUPPORT POLLINATORS
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Put your lawnmower aside for the month of May to help save bees and the planet.
This year, Sustainable Saratoga is promoting No Mow May, a national movement in which people don’t mow their lawns for one month in order to help provide more food sources for bees and other pollinators emerging from winter hibernation. Lawns that remain un-mowed during the month of May allow more species to grow, including some that flower early in the year, and help sustain pollinators.
Appleton, Wisconsin was the first U.S. community to adopt No Mow May, in 2020. It proved exceptionally successful in supporting pollinators: No Mow May lawns had five times as many bees and three times as many bee species as lawns that were mown, according to scientists in Wisconsin. The movement has quickly spread throughout that state as well as to Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Montana, according to a recent article in the New York Times.
“No Mow May is a simple but very effective way that we can help bees and other pollinators, which are facing catastrophic declines due to climate change, pesticides, and habitat loss,” says Wendy Mahaney, executive director of Sustainable Saratoga, which is spearheading No Mow May in the Saratoga region. “We are excited to support this new effort to raise awareness about the importance of pollinators and how everyone can make a difference.”
No Mow May does not violate any laws in the City of Saratoga Springs; the City requires property owners to mow their lawns in June, July, and August, but not in May. If you live outside of Saratoga Springs, you may want to check your local ordinances regarding lawn care requirements. Sustainable Saratoga has signage that property owners can put on their un-mowed lawns to explain No Mow May and to help spread the movement. For more information, please contact: pollinators@sustainablesaratoga.org.
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