No Mow May!

“No Mow May” is a conservation initiative to increase spring resources for flower-reliant insects by allowing non-grass lawn plants like clover, wild violets, dandelions, and self-heal to bloom by not mowing. This small action (or inaction, as it were) can yield major benefits. Research conducted by a team that includes Joan Milam and Susannah Lerman of UMass Amherst shows that simply reducing how often you mow can improve local pollinator abundance and diversity (more info here).

Not mowing your lawn this month, and mowing it less frequently all season, will also reduce your carbon footprint! There are over 40 million acres of turf grass in the United States and the lawn mowers used to maintain this turf require an estimated 800 million gallons of gasoline annually (more information on the environmental impacts of lawn maintenance can be found here).

The Mass Pollinator Network invites you to pledge your participation in this effort using the button below!