Agriculture

No mowing lawns in May could help the bees in the La Crosse area

Published

2 years ago

March 17, 2022

The city of La Crosse is encouraging homeowners to not mow their lawn through May.

The project is called “No Mow May.” It’s a way to allow plant growth coming out of winter for pollinators, who won’t have a lot of options to feed. Dandelions are some of the earliest flowers to bloom and important to those pollinators.

Parks Department staffer Tracy Rudi said Appleton, Wis., tried the project last year and saw a sharp increase in the bee population.

People are encouraged to register and to put up lawn signs during May, showing that they have a reason not to cut the grass.

The lawns, of course, will have to be mowed again early in June, to comply with city rules.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.