Posted on 04/20/2022 11:37:46 AM PDT by SJackson
More communities are encouraging residents to put away their lawnmowers for next month to help pollinator populations grow
Two years ago, Appleton became the first city in the U.S. to adopt "No-Mow May," an initiative designed to boost the population of bees and other pollinators.
The idea is to give homeowners the option of letting their lawns get a bit overgrown for a few weeks to ensure that bees that are coming out of hibernation have plenty of options for the nectar and pollen they need.
The initiative, which is optional everywhere it's been implemented, requires cities to temporarily waive enforcement of ordinances that require homeowners to maintain their lawns.
In Appleton in 2020, No-Mow May was met with success, and other cities including Wausau, Oshkosh, Fort Atkinson and Stevens Point adopted the idea the following year.
And like dandelions on an unmown lawn, this year the idea has spread even farther. No-Mow May will be observed in De Pere, Wisconsin Rapids, La Crosse and other Wisconsin communities, as well as more distant places such as Ann Arbor, Michigan; Bangor, Maine; and New York's Hudson Valley.
What's the point of No-Mow May?
"Bees, and insects in general, are in a bit of a slump right now," said Israel Del Toro, a biology professor at Appleton's Lawrence University.
Studies have shown steep declines in wild bee populations in the 21st century. It's a serious enough problem that the United Nations characterizes it as a threat to the global food supply.
Del Toro, who encountered the concept of a No-Mow May from an environmentalist group in the United Kingdom, was the driving force behind Appleton's pioneering initiative. There are many factors that are hurting bee populations, he said, including climate change and irresponsible uses of pesticides and herbicides.
But in his view, the biggest stressor is habitat loss.
No-Mow May ensures that bees and other pollinators have plentiful food sources as they come out of hibernation. Del Toro has also worked with the city of Appleton and Lawrence University to establish places in parks and public spaces that could be havens for native plants to support pollinators all summer long.
Bee on a marigold Danny Perez Photography (cc/by/nc/nd)
It's also worth noting that the pollinators most affected are not the bees most people know. There are more than 500 species of bees, and unlike honey bees or bumblebees, most of them don't live in colonies.
"They're solitary little organisms," Del Toro said, and they do "the vast majority of pollinating in our urban ecosystems and in our agricultural ecosystems."
Does No-Mow May actually make a difference?
The evidence that No-Mow May works to boost local pollinator populations is striking.
Del Toro's research in Appleton’s first year of the program with fellow Lawrence University professor Relena Ribbons found a fivefold increase in the number of pollinators and a threefold increase in pollinator species diversity in the spaces.
Del Toro said they expected to see populations increase, but that was a "staggering difference."
What if I love mowing my lawn, or just can’t stand the grass looking messy?
Not everyone likes a shaggy lawn. In Appleton, the first year of No-Mow May did coincide with an increase in complaints to the city.
This year, Ruth Ludwig, a member of the Superior City Council, brought forward a No-Mow May resolution there; the council will vote on it on Tuesday. Ludwig is a master gardener and loves watching the bees find flowers in her yard. But even in her own household, not everyone is completely sold on No-Mow May.
"My husband is one of those," she said. "He likes getting all the weeds out of the lawn. For him, it is therapeutic; he'll spend an afternoon pulling the weeds. In the spring, I do have to fight with him: 'Keep those dandelions. Let them grow, so it feeds the bees.'"
People pass by vast numbers of blossoming dandelions in a public park in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, May 3, 2018. Michael Probst/AP Photo
Del Toro said there is plenty of room for compromise. People can plant native flowers or allow growth only in parts of their yards. They can set up bee hotels, designed as habitats for solitary species like the leafcutter bee. And they can simply reduce their own use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers that can play a role in harming bee populations.
"By all means, if it's really driving you crazy, and it's really hurting you to watch those flowers grow in your yard, go ahead and mow," Del Toro said. "There are plenty of other ways for you to get involved and participate."
My community doesn't have No-Mow May. How can I help the bees?
Bee City USA, an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, offers advice for people who want to support bees without running afoul of local ordinances. One is to "maintain a mowed buffer" that separates your lawn from your garden.
"Maintaining a tidy mowed edge also makes a busy natural planting look less overwhelming, and makes these spaces look intentional rather than neglectful," the nonprofit writes.
Bee City USA also recommends engaging your local city council to see whether an optional No-Mow May program might work in your community.
For Del Toro, the broader goal is to make people aware that each of us can find ways to help bees.
"It's much more than just not mowing," Del Toro said. "It's also thinking actively about pollinator conservation, and all the little habits we can get rid of that maybe are hurting pollinators."
Now is the time to give some attention to your lawn. We talk with a sod expert about lawn alternatives, how and when to fertilize, and No Mow May.
There are bee forage seeding mixes to provide nectar and pollen April thru October. Just plant a bunch on otherwise unusable terrain. Red maples are the first spring tree bees go nuts for. Apple trees, pear trees, and the coveted Tupelo in the south. Don’t bother with red clover. Honey bees can’t reach the nectar. White clover, aslike clover, alfalfa, buckwheat, Dutch clover, and toss in some wildflower blend to make it pretty. All those plants improve the soil.
And the European Honey bee is an invasive species. It arrived on North America with European Settlers. I always laugh when the dead bees experts start their jabber. Bee die-offs come from veroa and tracheal mites. Hive collapse comes from broodfoul, wax moths, and hive beetles. I’ve been keeping bees since I was seventeen. That’s like 45 years now.
I certainly hope my wife does not comply...
[shudder] I’d better not have dandelions in my yard. Tall fescue and the occasional orchard grass sprout.
There are plenty of other flowers to feed the bees than dandelions.
I don’t know if it will be a problem in Wisconsin this year. We’re still getting snow.
I guarantee if leave some used soda cans lying around, you’ll have plenty of bees (they’re kind of found of Mountain Dew)
Before I moved to Beau’s farm, he’d just stake a steer on the front lawn and move it around from time to time to graze.
All went well with his system until that year the steer ate some Spaghetti Squash and the next season he had a yard filled with squash plants, LOL!
I do the mowing of the house yard, now. The current steer can be placed elsewhere. There’s no way I’m wading through cow flops on my way to the greenhouse and garden!
“Del Toro’s research in Appleton’s first year of the program with fellow Lawrence University professor Relena Ribbons found a fivefold increase in the number of pollinators and a threefold increase in pollinator species diversity in the spaces.“
Once I would have regarded this as persuasive, what with scientific types doing studies and reporting back but I don’t buy anything these unknowns have to report. I’d guess that they want no mow to go forward and got results to back that up. I fooling. I doubt them and their “science” ENTIRELY.
There are native bees and other insects that are much more efficient at pollinating than the European honey bee.
We won't all die without them.
No fooling…
I do not have a problem with this. If I had my way, I would let my entire yard go to the dandelions. They’re nutritious and delicious and good for the bees. Along with purple dead nettle (which I have tons of) which is also nutritious and delicious. I am into herbs,foraging, and gardening and have found that most of my backyard is nothing but a giant salad bowl/medicine chest if you know what to look for and how to use it. I do not use pesticides of any kind. Prefer to let things grow naturally and deal with pests naturally. Luckily I live on a couple acres with NO HOA rules, backed up against a green belt/forest. I’m actually planning on tapping some maple trees this coming winter! I’m also doubling my garden this year, so will appreciate any help from the bees I can get. You should see them when my Rosemary BUSH (almost tree) is flowering.
May would be far too late in Florida for the bees. I let my large viburnum plants get out of control through April for the bees. have to be a little careful around them at that time. FWIW
Planted some nepeta a few years back. Couldn’t get near it to deadhead because of the bees until I figured out the best times of day to avoid them. Bees love the stuff.
It sounds great, but if we don’t mow in May, the mower won’t get through it in June. It’s already getting ragged, and tall grass means more Lyme ticks.
Never heard of the stuff.
OK, I looked it up.
It’s catnip and based on how it looks when it flowers, I can see why the bees would love it.
No mow = more plant life = less CO2
The tunnel led to an outlet pipe where he kept a five gallon bucket half filled with water. As the snakes made there way through the tunnel, the mice emptied out into the bucket. Those that didn't drown, the guy would put in the freezer to feed his pet snake between trips. It was kind of cool, but it brought home the reality that short grass, tall grass or even no grass (as in this case) didn't keep mice from invading places where people dwell.
Wherever they can find an opening, food or warmth, they would invade. Your action may be effective against snakes. Mice? Not so much.
If I had just one (either just the cat, or just regularly cutting grass) I'd have a mice problem. I know that because I've experienced it. But by doing both (and keeping a clean house), the few times we've seen a mouse in the past decade the cat has taken care of the problem for us.
So I don't go: "Darn! Cutting the grass alone only reduced my mice population. It didn't make the mice I see in the house exactly zero across the past 16 years, therefore cutting grass is worthless in the mouse war." Cutting grass plays an effective role in the battle. Having a cat plays a role. Keeping a clean house plays a role. And altogether the end result is we have no rodent problem. Even with thick woods on 3 sides of the yard (we every now and then have a deer in our backyard because the back 2/3rds of our 1.5 acre lot is nothing but woods connected to "next door neighbors" that is hundreds of acres of wooded undeveloped land that the steel company once owned) we don't have a rodent problem.
Maybe I'm missing something. But something is working right.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.