No Mow May is almost over, but you can still provide critical help to a wide array of critters on your property by easing up on your mowing practices. The St. Andrews Episcopal Church has undertaken this ethos and has not mowed its property this month, according to Church Clerk Louise Beecher.

The theory behind No Mow May is to let parts of your lawn remain un-mowed during May and ideally for longer portions of the summer to promote the growth of vital pollinating plants. The move is in keeping with St. Andrews’s mission, according to Beecher.

“The church really cares about the environment, but we feel we can do this to do our part,” said Beecher. “We got in touch with our landscaper about the idea, naturally, and they thought it was a good idea, so we’re doing it. We are fully on board with No Mow May, and there are other towns that are beginning to do this as well. We hope it will really start catching on next year.”

Most folks are aware that bees in the U.S. have been in sharp declines for almost two decades. According to several sources that promote and report on bee declines issues, 2021 was the second highest hive die-off on record, so the many factors that are affecting bees, including pesticide use and habitat loss, are still affecting these pollinators. But bees aren’t the only insects that pollinate and they are not the only species that are declining.

According to Beecher, other species are feeling the impact and need protection too.

“Our native pollinators are being hit as hard as the bees are by these factors. There 300 different species of bees in the country,” said Beecher. “They are the major pollinators and they are required for many different types of vegetables. But many of the other pollinators are being overlooked. Even certain types of flies are pollinators, and we normally don’t think of them as that. They are all taking a hit right now. It’s so easy to do. You can find more about this from the Xerces Society, which promotes this effort. They make up free posters to let folks know what is occurring. We really do consider this part of our mission, so we’d like to be part of this pollinator pathway.”

Beecher said that some studies that have collected data show that even just mowing your lawn ever two weeks can vastly improve the number and amount of species in a given specific area. So even if you want to be pollinator friendly but not allow your property to become overrun with growth, a simple twice-monthly mowing schedule can help.

Property owners don’t necessarily need to plant native pollinator species, dig up their lawns, or undertake massive projects to assist in promoting pollinators. Simply altering your mowing schedule can be of great benefit, according to The Xerces Society.

The Xerces Society, which runs Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA and the No Mow May program, can be visited at www.beecityusa.org/no-mow-may.