West of England residents should stop mowing their lawns to help save the region’s bees, and fight back against the climate emergency, West of England Mayor, Dan Norris, is urging. Mr Norris is backing No Mow May - urging locals to heed calls to lock up the mower for at least a month to boost flowers and the insects that rely on them, including the West’s pollinator pals.
Longer grass and flourishing meadows help to feed essential but struggling pollinators - think butterflies, damselflies and bees - while becoming a haven for insects, birds and hedgehogs. Leaving the lawnmower alone for a month will help build on the work of the Mayoral Combined Authority at a regional level in making the region the bee and pollinator capital of the country.
The regional Mayor pointed to his £1 million Pollinator Fund transforming over 620,000 square metres of land (double the target he set) to better serve this region’s pollinators by funding over 60 bee-rilliant bee projects - including those led by Bath City Farm, Heart of BS13, and other regional organisations.
Mayor Dan Norris said: “Locking the mower away for a few extra weeks really is so important – not least for our bee buddies who’ve really struggled these last few years.
“Doing so will really help the work I’m doing at a regional level to support bees, damselflies and other pollinators. Think projects like the transformation of Keynsham Memorial Ground into a pollinator’s paradise. Or how about the planting of 10 mini nature reserves in primaries and secondaries across the West - including in Bristol, Temple Cloud and other areas in our region.
"Alongside my annual Bee Bold Awards, it shows that I am delivering on my commitment to make our West of England region the bee and pollinator capital of the whole country.
“But I know we can go further. So this year, I would encourage everyone to please give No Mow May a go.”
97% of flower meadows have been lost since the 1970s. The UK has lost 13 bee species in recent years with another 35 at risk because of climate change, habitat loss, and bee-killing pesticides.
No Mow May starts on 1 May (which is Wednesday next week).
