As it has for the past several years, Kent Land Trust is embracing the wild experiment of “No Mow May.”
It’s interesting to note how this movement has morphed over time to signify a bundle of better land use practices to do year-round, as opposed to a month off the machinery.
For every day is Earth Day, after all—and the season’s first flowers, so necessary to support our native pollinators, and which include weeds that might be chopped down in one’s lawn—increasingly emerge in April.
So, while we will continue to participate by leaving our lawn areas to grow shaggy with dear bluets, we have less to “no mow,” having “shrunk the lawn” to areas where we want to walk.
We’ve replanted our perennial beds to be “salads” for caterpillars and other beneficial bugs. We’ve abandoned pesticides, exchanging them for natural control methods where necessary. All in the spirit of NMM. Will you give it a try? KLT would love to see your photos and hear about what happened when you did.
Then, if you’d like to explore adding native perennials to your landscape (and how else are you going to fill the space where your lawn used to be?), head out to a local source to view and purchase some. New to Kent and a boon to the pollinators living right here is Conundrum Farm—on site at the former Marble Valley Farm (and KLT’s office).
Farmer Sarah Lang is growing a number of species including some from seed harvested from the healthy habitats of KLT’s nature preserves. She expects to have plants for sale in June—follow Conundrum’s social accounts including Facebook (Conundrum Farm CT) and Instagram (@ConundrumFarmCT).
Now, also consider joining advocates to encourage Connecticut’s legislature to catch up with neighboring states by banning neonicotinoids and rodenticides. These toxins have disturbed our ecosystem, killing countless insects, birds and mammals far beyond the targeted “pests.”
This week, Connecticut lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 9 addressing neonics and rodenticides. The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters has issued a time-sensitive  Action Alert to make it easy for us to let our representatives know what we’d like to see.
Connie Manes is executive director of the Kent Land Trust.