Householders are being urged not to mow their lawns for at least a month.
According to a charity, gardeners should stop mowing their lawns to let nature flourish and help combat the climate crisis. Plantlife’s No Mow May campaign encourages people to invite wildlife into their gardens and cut pollution by locking up the mower this month.
It says 97% of flower meadows have been lost since the 1970s, yet longer grass and flourishing meadows help to feed essential pollinators such as butterflies and bees, reports The Mirror. Britain’s lawns cover 125,000 hectares, the size of Bedfordshire, according to Plantlife.
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Ian Dunn, CEO, said: “The immaculate bright green bowling green lawn with its neat stripes may have historically been the desired garden aesthetic but, increasingly, we’re seeing a cultural shift which sees wilder lawns buzzing with bees and butterflies becoming highly valued. A radical shift in attitudes towards lawn management is under way and it is to the benefit of plants, pollinators, people and planet."
Plantlife says on its website: "We’ve lost nearly 97% of flower rich meadows since the 1970’s and with them gone are vital food needed by pollinators, like bees and butterflies. A healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away carbon below ground – and best of all, to reap these benefits all you have to do is not mow your lawn in May.
"With over 20 million gardens in the UK, even the smallest grassy patches add up to a significant proportion of our land which, if managed properly, can deliver enormous gains for nature, communities and the climate. This is why Plantlife is calling for people to get involved with #NoMowMay and let wild plants get a head start on the summer."
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