Skipping the first spring mow to save the bees?

AccuWeather

AccuWeather's Ali Reid reports on a movement called "No Mow May" where people involved temporarily hold off on mowing their lawns in an effort to help give bees a chance to pollinate flowers for food.

Transcript

00:00spring is here and that means lawn mowers are revving up across the country but what if

00:04skipping that first mow of the season could help save the bees bernie would never skip

00:11but a growing movement called no may no mo may no mo may encourages homeowners to put the mower

00:19aside for a few weeks not out of laziness but to give pollinators a much needed head start

00:26our ally reed is live from medford new jersey to show us and to share how letting your grass grow a

00:32little longer can help nature bounce back alley first of all amazing to see you yes we missed you

00:38we did second we love medford happy to be back

00:45i love medford too also bernie i heard you already mess up message yeah try saying that 10 times fast

00:52okay it's impossible thank you i don't think i can do it by the way no mo may this is what we're

00:56talking about this morning but this is a great concept for families that are all across one that

01:05did not start in the united states but a lot of people now right as we head into springtime they

01:10say we need to cut our lawns we need to trim them and across the country a lot of neighborhoods when

01:14you see that perfectly trimmed lawn that is a point of pride for many families but heading into this

01:21spring people are changing it up a little bit they're saying okay we're gonna hold off on mowing

01:25for just a few more weeks for this concept of no mo may say that 10 times fast the idea was created in

01:33the uk by a company called plant life now the goal was to give pollinators like bees and butterflies

01:40of fighting chance during the early spring when they emerge from winter and are desperate for food

01:45but flowers are still scarce the idea caught on quickly in the u.s where lawns cover

01:51more than 40 million acres that's more land than any other irrigated crop but most lawns are just

01:58grass right they're regularly mowed fertilized and treated like pesticides leaving little behind for

02:04wildlife by simply skipping the mower for a few weeks or mowing every two to three weeks instead

02:10you allow early season blooms like clover violets and dandelions to grow these flowers provide essential

02:17nectar and pollen at a critical time of the year for them and while letting your grass grow is a great

02:22start experts say we can take other easy steps to make our yards even more wildlife friendly we can

02:29plant native plants that bloom throughout the growing season we can reduce or eliminate our pesticide use

02:37we can protect natural nesting sites by leaving the leaves and having some bare soil

02:42uh even leaving some logs or stems lying around can support many different species of pollinators

02:50and then uh we can really help by spreading the word

02:56the approach isn't one size fits all in fact it'll vary depending on where you live in the southern u.s

03:01pollinators emerge earlier so no mow february or march might be more effective for you now in colder

03:07climates may is often the perfect time to hold off mowing even if you're not ready to stop mowing

03:12altogether shrinking the size of your lawn or planting native shrubs can make a huge difference

03:18so bernie ari this is positive news i'm basically a little bit less for the next couple of weeks

03:26by the way there are so many communities across the country that are already taking part in this college

03:31park maryland hillsborough north carolina are two perfect examples of communities that have been doing

03:36this for years now and has really worked for their neighborhood so maybe give it a try yourself guys

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