Other Ways To Support Biodiversity

If you’re looking for more ways to help increase biodiversity around your home after No Mow May is over, here are some additional actions that can help pollinators year-round.

Shrink your lawn and incorporate more native plants: You won’t have to mow as much if there is less lawn to mow! Dr. Doug Tallamy, co-founder of Homegrown National Park, suggests shrinking your lawn by identifying the places in your yard where it is useful to have turf and converting the rest of the lawn to native landscaping. Prioritize planting Keystone species, the most productive plants that support the most species. Use HNP’s Keystone Guides for container-friendly flower plants or trees & shrubs to determine the Keystones for your area.

Remove invasives: Invasive species take over landscapes, outcompete native plants for limited space and resources, and rarely provide the same caliber of food and habitat as native plants. To add insult to injury, many invasive species are popular for home landscaping. Try to identify any invasive plants in your yard (apps like iNaturalist can help) and remove or replace them.

Soft landingsMore than 90% of the caterpillars that develop on trees drop to the ground for part of their lifecycle. Consider replacing lawn under trees with well-planted beds of groundcovers appropriate for your area. This will give the caterpillars a nice, soft landing they can easily dig into.

Don’t cut your stems: Many pollinator species nest and overwinter in plant stems. Leave the old stalks where they are to provide quality habitat for beneficial insects.

Grow a native bee lawn: Bee lawns are turfgrass lawns enriched with low-growing flowering species. They provide foraging opportunities for pollinators while still allowing for moderate recreational use, and require less frequent mowing than traditional turf lawns. Learn more about native bee lawns.

Advocate for more biodiversity-friendly ordinances: If your ability to participate in No Mow May is curtailed by HOA requirements for lawn maintenance, advocate for guidelines that allow for landscaping that supports native pollinators.