HAPPY (NO MOW) MAY!
Sign up/Free Yard Sign: No Mow May/Northampton
Hi Folks,
I'm writing to spread the word about an exciting campaign started by Ward 7 resident Amy Sugihara; No Mow May/Northampton. With its beginnings in the UK, No Mow May is gaining momentum in the US, with dozens of cities participating.
All you have to do to participate is, well, do nothing; let your mower and yourself rest and allow endangered pollinators to get a bite at the wonderful take-out food currently starting to bud in your lawn. Spring is a critical time for our bees and other pollinators. Little flowers grow naturally in our lawns now, providing a vital first food source for the newly emerging bees and other pollinators.
We need the bees! They'll soon return the favor by pollinating our food crops. Over 1,200 food crops are pollinated by bees. Declining bee populations threaten our food crops.
Compared with mowed lawns, No Mow May lawns were found to have 5 times the number of bees and 3 times the bee species!
And the benefits don't stop there; No Mow May also reduces carbon emissions, pesticide and herbicide use, and neighborhood noise.
- Usually hire somebody to mow? Pay them to plant pollinators instead!
- Not ready to commit? Try it for less time or just leave a section of your lawn.
Northampton residents can sign up at www.wmassbees.org for a *free* No Mow May sign to let their neighbors know what they’re (not) up to!
PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!
5/2/22 NPR: Need an excuse not to mow your lawn? Join 'no mow May ...
4/3/22 New York Times; In Wisconsin: Stowing Mowers, Pleasing Bees
|
