SARATOGA COUNTYSome local grasses might be a little less green this month. Sustainable Saratoga launched a No Mow May initiative in May asking residents to not cut the grass until June in order to provide more food for critical pollinators such as butterflies and bees.
Some homeowners may not be used to their lawns being neat and green. But proponents see No Mow May as an easy lift — not mowing your lawn is easier than mowing it, after all — with enormous upside for the environment. The pollinator population is on the rise in Midwest communities where No Mow May has been used since 2020. The government is considering changing their mowing practices, so we may soon get used to seeing long grass with wildflowers.
Marge McShane was not forced to participate in Saratoga County’s No Mow May initiative. With the help a professional landscaper, the Stillwater resident for nine years was already working on a lasagna-garden. This involves covering the grass with cardboard and topping it with compost before putting in plants. McShane stated that McShane wanted natural plants to take control of her front lawn so she didn’t have pesticides or need to mow.
Contributing tends to be individual actions. The idea that we all could change the world or stop global climate warming is a false notion. It really comes down to individual choices. McShane stated that this is our individual decision.
McShanes lawn,in stark contrast to her neighbor’s bright green grass lined with crisp mow marks, could serve as the poster lawn for No Mow May. It is displaying the Saratogas unique No Mow Mai sign for now.
Start now
The Saratogas Initiative is part of a larger movement that started in the United Kingdom in 2019, before reaching Appleton, Wisconsin in 2020. It then spread throughout the state, as well as to Iowa and Minnesota, Illinois, and Montana.
Participants in the Midwest have seen their bee populations rise significantly. According to research from Lawrence University scientists, Appleton had 435 households that participated in 2020. The lawns that were not mowed saw five-fold more bees and three-fold as many species of bees than the mowed ones.
Advocates say that pollinators wintering underground don’t need to be mowed in May. They can get a crucial first meal from spring by not mowing in May.
The strong start to the season helps increase pollinator populations, which have been in decline throughout the world. The Center for Biological Diversity published 2017 research that found that more than half the bee species are in decline, with a quarter of those species facing extinction due to habitat loss.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, pollinators are vital to ecological function.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website on pollination explains that almost 80% of the 1,400 crop plants in the world require pollination from animals. Also, pollinators such as bees can help produce more fruit and better yields.
According to the USDA, the annual value of pollination for agricultural crops in the United States is $10 billion.
According to Wendy Mahaney (executive director of Sustainable Saratoga), all these factors make it logical for Sustainable Saratoga bring No Mow Mai to the area.
Locally, the program quickly came together thanks to volunteers like Paul Murphy spreading the word or handing out signs made by an intern at Skidmore College.
Murphy stated that people know they have a problem but don’t always know how to fix it. This is a way for them to think about individual actions they can take.
Murphy, Mahaney, and others have distributed approximately 100 signs across the county so far. Mahaney stated that the campaign this year is about advocacy.
She stated that the goal of this year is to increase awareness about why you might want to do it, and what the benefits are. Then, she said, we will build on it each year.
Mahaney said that the goal is to see wider adoption and make No Mow May a common practice in the region.
Change your habits
Others believe No Mow may be a step towards a complete overhaul of lawn care.
Matthew Shepherd, director for outreach and education at Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation said that No Mow May is only the first step. He promoted No Mow May as part his Bee City USA initiative. We would love to see people think about how they can go further than that. Is it possible to let a portion of your lawn remain long for the entire year? Can you have a meadow in your yard?
Advocates say that changing the mowing practices of municipalities and government agencies will make it easier to create more habitat for pollinators.
New York state has already changed mowing practices on public lands. According to the state Department of Transportation, maintenance groups are encouraged to look for ways that they can reduce or alter mowing. According to the New York States Pollinator Protection Plan, altered mowing has been reported in Rochester, Buffalo and Utica.
According to the pollinator program, the New York State Thruway Authority also seeks meadow sites. It aims to establish 20 acres in one year.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation supports No Mow Ma May and other limited mowing efforts.
A lesser amount of yard mowing can allow some flowering plants bloom and benefit pollinators. A spokesperson for DEC wrote in an email that field nesting birds are most active in May and June on larger landscapes. Therefore, delaying mowing can help to ensure successful breeding and prevent nest failure. Reducing mowing can create or preserve plants, habitat for pollinators, and other beneficial insects, and may help conserve energy, reduce emissions, and even conserve water.
Maxine Lautenberg, a Saratoga town council member, is starting the conversation locally. She is meeting with another council member, as well as the town highway superintendent, to discuss mowing practices.
It seems like a very easy lift. Lautenberg stated that this is a very simple lift for something that can do quite a lot of good. This seems like a good, benign way to begin to have an impact on the environment in the town.
Don Ormsby was the Saratogas town highway superintendent and said he is open to discussing with Lautenberg or the Town Board possible changes in mowing practices on the 60-miles of roadside that he maintains with two mowers with a crew of six.
Ormsby stated that he still has reservations. One concern is that he might not mow for a month, which could cause his crew to be late in June when the extra-long grass will require more time.
In addition, Ormsby said mowing along roadsides — where the practice is to typically mow back about 15 to 20 feet, depending on the area — is really about safety.
It is a matter of line-of sight. Ormsby explained that if the grass grows too long, it can make it difficult to see people and cars coming down the road. It’s a safety issue.
Still, Ormsby said hes open to the idea of No Mow May in some capacity and some locations, and he said residents are welcome to maintain their grass — or not maintain it — however they see fit.
It might be easier to get residents to support limited mowing than the rows of manicured lawns that line the county. Lawrence Yaw is the owner of Lawn Monsterz and makes his living in landscaping. Yawsaid he’s trying to get Halfmoon and Clifton Park customers to reframe how they see their lawns.
Yaw stated that instead of spending thousands of dollars maintaining 3 inches of grass per year, he talks to customers about planting vegetable and fruit gardens on a portion their land. Customers could still hire his services, but Yaw would prefer to tend to gardens than spraying pesticides on grass or cutting it.
Yaw stated that many customers laugh when Yaw mentions his garden idea.
Yaw suggested that people prefer a red carpet. People are stuck in the past. We were programmed to keep a green lawn.
Andrew Waite can reached at [email protected]or at 518-417-93338. Follow him on Twitter @UpstateWaite
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