No Mow May
This spring, Wandsworth Council will be joining in with local gardeners to take part in the nationwide No Mow May campaign run by the charity Plantlife.
At several greenspaces across the borough during May, the lawnmowers will be stopped and the wildflowers will bloom. Enable Leisure and Culture; who look after the parks and open spaces in the borough; will allow the multitude of spring flowers to flourish and allow pollinators to take full advantage of the crop. On the second bank holiday weekend of May Wandsworth Council in partnership with Enable Leisure and Culture encourage people to visit these spaces in line with Government Covid-19 guidance and take part in the Every Flower Counts survey, as part of the campaign run by Plantlife. The survey will allow people to discover a variety of spring plants that are hidden on these sites. Plantlife will even be able to provide a spring “nectar score” for each site if people submit results.
Wandsworth Council also wants to encourage people to take part in No Mow May at home – leave the lawnmower or strimmer in the shed for one month and see which flowers bloom and which pollinators visit. This is an excellent way to understand the existing wildlife value of a local patch and a chance to discover hidden gems across the borough.
Wandsworth Biodiversity Strategy
This is the first in a series of actions to deliver improvements for pollinators as part of the Wandsworth biodiversity strategy. While the Plantlife campaign focuses on bees, the biodiversity strategy stresses that all pollinators are brought into the spotlight and that measures are implemented to support the lifecycle of this wide range of invertebrates including butterflies and moths, hoverflies and some soldierflies, along with various kinds of bees. The strategy also emphasises working with the community, to make improvements in private and communal gardens as well as the public greenspaces, as working together can provide more places for wildlife and improve connectivity for many of these highly mobile species.
Locations
Across the borough this May, grasslands in the following areas will contribute to No Mow May:
Battersea Park
Christchurch Gardens
Falcon Park
King Georges Park
Lower Putney Common Cemetery
Putney Vale Cemetery
Morden Cemetery
St Marys Cemetery, Battersea Rise
Tooting Common
Wandsworth Common
Wandsworth Park
Get in touch
Wandsworth Council and Enable LC want to ensure residents are on board with this campaign every step of the way, therefore selected communal lawns across the borough will be allowed to bloom; subject to local agreement with the residents in that area. In SW15 the local wildlife group SW15 Hedgehogs will be helping with the flower counting, should any further groups like to help please contact biodiversity@enablelc.org
The results from Wandsworth will help produce specific new wildlife gardening advice later this year when the best course of action is agreed upon for local pollinators.
Let Wandsworth Council know if you are taking part on social media by using the hashtags #NoMowMay and #WandsworthBiodiversity
For more information on the Wandsworth biodiversity strategy visit: https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/campaigns/climate-change/together-on-nature/
To sign up to the Every Flower Counts survey to submit records and to receive a nectar score visit: https://www.plantlife.org.uk/everyflowercounts/
For more information on SW Hedgehogs visit: @SW15Hedgehogs