Sign-up available for ‘No Mow May’

Heart of the City, a community-based nonprofit group, has announced that a process is now in place through which residents can sign up for “No Mow May,” a community-based initiative created in Fort Atkinson to increase pollinator habitat and awareness of the necessity of biodiversity. 

“After being cooped up in the house over a long winter, nothing feels more satisfying than to be outdoors in the yard tending our lawns. However, with the dramatic decrease to pollinators, our rigorous weekly mowing and ‘lawn treatments’ comes with a cost, Heart of the City spokesperson Margaret Schroeder recently noted. 

Pollinators, such as bees and other insects, are involved with 70% of our consumed foods, Schroeder wrote in a recent email, adding:  “In an article by Christopher Rhodes on ‘Pollinator Decline’ from 2018, he states, ‘Bees, as the best documented species, can be seen to be suffering from chronic exposure to a range of stressors, which include: a loss of abundance and diversity of flowers, and a decline in suitable habitat for them to nest; long-term exposure to agrochemicals, including pesticides such as neonicotinoids; and infection by parasites and pathogens, many inadvertently spread by the actions of humans.'” 

Schroeder and Heart of the City are asking residents to consider mowing their lawns every 2-3 weeks, especially in May, when pollinators crawl out from hibernation to forage for nutrition to take back to their hives.

“When we mow often/weekly in May, their nesting in the ground as well as early flowering nourishment is squelched,” Schroeder wrote. 

“The City Council of Fort Atkinson, in their careful, forward thinking, has approved for backyards to be left unmowed in May 2021. In addition, please consider adding native pollinator gardens to your lawn.

“So take a deep breath, sit back, because per Bob Dylan, ‘these times are a’changing.’  E.O. Wilson, a well-know American biologist and author also states: ‘If insects were to disappear, the environment would collapse into chaos.’ Yes, a decrease in pollinators worldwide is ‘the canary in the coal mine,'” Schroeder wrote. 

Those interested in participating in No Mow May can learn more and sign up for the program through the Heart of the City’s website: https://heartofthecity.us, or contact the group through email: nomowmay@gmail.com.