Mow Less May

The City of New Brighton is again encouraging its residents to consider taking a break from mowing their lawns during the month of May. The start of the growing season is a critical time for hungry, newly emerging native bees. Floral resources may be hard to find, especially in urban and suburban landscapes. By allowing lawns to grow longer and not applying pesticides to flowering plants in your lawn, you can provide nectar and pollen to help your bee neighbors thrive. Mowing less is just one thing we can do to protect pollinators. A study of unmowed yards from Lawrence University shows a fivefold increase in the number of bees during the month of May.

The City understands that not everyone can go the entire month of May without mowing. For one – the lawn can get pretty long! A follow-up study by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station found bee abundance still increased even when lawns were mown every other week. Mowing alone isn’t the only answer to helping save our Pollinators. That is why the Parks and Recreation Department is also offering programs to help residents learn about pollinator-friendly butterfly gardens and Forester talks. You can find the information online -  www.newbrightonmn.gov/register

In the meantime – register to participate in our Mow Less May: 

Once registered, participants can pick up a lawn sign from the New Brighton Community Center to show their support for No Mow May. Lawn signs will be available for pick-up starting the first week of May, and participants will be notified by email when they are ready to pick up. 

If you have a sign from last year, you can reuse it!