Georgian Bluffs has your perfect excuse to hold off cutting the lawn for a few more weeks.
The township is encouraging its residents to join the "no mow May" movement, which provides critical early-season habitat and food sources for pollinators such as ground-nesting bees and butterflies. The month-long initiative was originally created by U.K.-based charity Plantlife and quickly caught on internationally. The goal is to maintain dandelions, clover, and other flowering plants that pop up in lawns for pollinators to feed on early in the spring when other food sources are low.
“Supporting pollinators starts right outside our front doors” said Riel Warrilow, the township's environmental initiatives coordinator. “By making space for pollinators, we’re supporting the ecosystems that sustain this region including the environment, our local economy, and our food supply.”
To participate, all residents have to do is hold off cutting their lawn until the end of the month and display a "no mow May" sign. The window signs can be downloaded from the township's website by clicking here.
Georgian Bluffs updated its yard maintenance by-law earlier this year to allow for naturalized yard spaces and biodiversity-friendly landscaping, including "no mow May". Other steps residents can take to protect pollinators include planting native wildflowers and avoiding pesticide use.
A list of tips, native plants, and other pollinator-friendly gardening ideas is available at www.georgianbluffs.ca/pollinators.