A local group dedicated to improving conditions for pollinators says it's your leaf piles more than your unmown grass that should be left alone this month.
Instead of the increasingly popular "No Mow May," Pollinate Collingwood is promoting a campaign to "Leave The Leaves."
During Monday’s (May 1) council meeting, representatives from Pollinate Collingwood came before council to provide an update on their activities for the past year, as well as provide information on a shift away from #NoMowMay and toward a hashtag that might better help North American pollinators.
The #NoMowMay movement has gained steam in municipalities across Canada in recent years, a movement which started in the UK, in an effort to encourage homeowners to wait until June to start mowing their lawns to give pollinators a chance to feed off the dandelions and other wildflowers. However, the only published scientific journal article favouring No Mow May was retracted this past November due to “several potential inconsistencies in data handling and reporting.”
In 2022, Collingwood council passed a motion to have staff look into amending the property standards bylaw to allow residents to participate in #NoMowMay should they choose to do so.
Carolyn Davies, a representative from Pollinate Collingwood, told councillors this week that dandelions and honeybees are native to the UK and aren’t native to North America, which means that not mowing your lawn until June would have little local impact to native pollinators.
“We all know plants, pollinators and all sorts of wildlife are different here in North America than in the UK,” Davies told councillors.
“We say a lawn is sort of like an empty plate. There's no food there for pollinators. Dandelions are kind of like a bowl of chips or candy. There's something in there, but it's really not going to help you to do your best. It's not going to give you the nutrients that you require,” she said.
“Although #NoMowMay can be a really great opportunity to connect with people and to start to build this discussion, we'd love for like a shift to happen where it's #SleepInSpring or it's #SaveTheStems, or #LeaveTheLeaves. (We should) start to incorporate some of those broader ecologically important practices in order to support our native pollinators,” said Davies.
Davies said that in May, the best thing for native pollinators in Collingwood is shrubs and trees – specifically cherry, willow, maple dogwood and serviceberries – even if they don’t look like they’re flowering.
“#SaveTheStems and #LeaveTheLeaves; those are really to provide nesting opportunities,” she said.
During council discussion on the matter, Deputy Mayor Tim Fryer noted he would be having discussions with the County of Simcoe regarding pushing yard waste collection back to June in future years in order to allow residents who want to participate in #LeaveTheLeaves to do so. As of this year, curbside yard waste is collected in May and July.
In 2022, Pollinate Collingwood tended to 1,249 square feet of native garden space across Collingwood, including 11 new garden sites, planting 426 native perennials, forbs and shrubs, handing out 205 free native plants at public events and 360 packages of free native seeds. The group also attended community events for the Collingwood Garden Club, Earth Day, Be The Change film series, Wildfest and a National Pollinator Week event.
In 2023, the group’s plans include some new projects in collaboration with the YMCA, Home Horizon and the town, and a grass-to-pollinator patch program. The group will also continue with community engagement events, education efforts and partnerships with neighbouring communities.
