PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 28, 2022
We often ask people to do something for the environment. Today, we’re asking them to consider doing nothing. By waiting until at least June to mow their spring lawns, allowing wild plants to take over grassy areas, Mainers can give bees just emerging from hibernation the food they need to do the crucial work of pollination. It’s called No Mow May. A study by the Center for Biological Diversity found that more than half of bee species are declining, with a quarter in serious peril, because of habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change and urbanization. The decline is a threat to all the wild plants and cultivated crops that depend on pollination