2023-05-01 10:00:52
It is a specter for nature lovers and therefore also an annual discussion. Just as the roadsides, parks, beds and gardens are blooming in lush spring, the mowing machine is also coming out of the shed more often. For individuals who want a fresh and trimmed lawn. But also at municipalities, provinces and water boards, which manage large parts of public space.
It led various nature organizations to the joint action Maai Mei Niet. ‘The more flowers, the more nectar and the more happy bees and insects’, is the credo. But there is quite a lot to be said regarding that, says the Butterfly Foundation, which ’emphatically does not participate’. ‘Public space benefits from knowledge and customization, not from dogmas’, argues project leader Anthonie Stip in a critical piece in the trade journal Nature Today.
Such an action sounds particularly sympathetic. What’s your problem?
Stip: “This is a great initiative for private individuals. If people mow their lawn forty times a year, it helps not to do so for a while. But things go wrong when people take that view from their own garden to the public space. And if the image becomes that municipalities, provinces and water boards should not mow in May either. While there may be very good reasons to do just that in certain places.”
For example, when?
“Partly due to the mild winters and the large amount of nitrogen, grasses can grow early in the year. Flowers and herbs that benefit from less nitrogen or higher temperatures have a more difficult time. Due to the rapid growth of grasses, they receive too little light. In places where this happens, mowing can actually help other species get more attention. And thus promote nature.
“Especially in places that receive a lot of sunlight, such as the southern slope of a dike, it is advisable to mow twice a year. If you don’t do that in May, you have to catch up. And then in June and July there is mowing more and on a larger scale.”
Why did we ever start mowing?
“Because we value landscapes that we want to keep open. Often in places where this used to happen with grazing animals. That is still the case in some places. But if you want grassland with flowers along a dike, for example, you will have to manage that. Otherwise it slowly becomes forest.
“If you reason from those grazers, it is illogical not to mow at all for a month. But you also see that it is important to mow small-scale and carefully. By not trimming a gigantic acreage in one go, but by also leaving something standing. It’s regarding the way: species will always fall victim to mowing. But there are also species that benefit from it.
“Fortunately, more and more municipalities are paying attention to the importance of ecological management. This awareness can still grow among provinces and water boards. But we have to get rid of the sentiment that mowing is something terrible. The central question should be how we can contribute to the restoration of biodiversity. Sometimes ‘not to mow’ is the best answer, but in other cases ‘to mow’ is better. Also in May.”
Read also:
Leave the lawnmower in the shed until June, give wildflowers a chance
‘Don’t mow May’ is a national campaign by the Bijenstichting, Flora van Nederland, Steenbreek Foundation, ecological garden association Velt and EW magazine. Objective: promoting biodiversity in Dutch gardens through a different, milder mowing policy. Because bees, bumblebees, butterflies and other pollinating insects do not eat grass. They want flowers with nectar and pollen.
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