No Mow May: Vertas Joins the Buzz to Help Increase Biodiversity

This May, Vertas Group and various customer sites are joining Plantlife’s No Mow May campaign, encouraging individuals to let wildflowers grow to support biodiversity.

What is No Mow May?

The UK-wide campaign encourages property owners, councils, and individuals with an outside space to put a hold on mowing the lawn throughout May. The idea is to allow wildflowers to grow freely, providing vital nectar for bees, butterflies, and other key pollinators.

We work across a number of sites and are pleased to have partnered with the University of Suffolk to hold off on mowing for May. The ground, will be left to flourish, helping increase biodiversity within this predominantly urban environment.

Why take part?

By temporarily pausing our mowing operations and allowing wild plants to grow freely, we can have a significant environmental impact. Vertas Grounds cut the lawn on a weekly basis in line with regular lawn maintenance.

However, holding off from mowing in May, when the soil is warming up and grass really starts growing, allows spring flowers to set seed. This contributes to healthier, more diverse lawns.

These wildflowers provide essential food for pollinators, which is critical for their survival. We’ve lost 97% of wildflower meadows in the past 70 years (Countryfile, BBC), limiting natural habitats and food supplies for pollinating insects. Allowing these spring flowers to grow for just a few weeks can help restore some of the lost habitat.

What we’re doing

Across Vertas Group, we recognise that we have a responsibility to protect the environment in which we work. We want to reduce our negative impact and so prioritise sustainability across our operations, including landscape management.

By getting involved with the No Mow May initiative, we’re pleased to join a movement that aligns with our commitment to creating more ecologically diverse landscapes that provide a place for wildlife to thrive.

Thomas Heathwaite, Sustainability Coordinator at University of Suffolk, said: “A biodiversity and habitat-centric approach is at the forefront of the University’s sustainability mission, and we have supported No Mow May for the last 3 years with Vertas. No Mow May is not only the right thing to do, but it also brings so many benefits, including from an educational piece and from a habitat and biodiversity approach, allowing wonderful wildflowers to thrive.

May is a critical time for so many pollinators such as bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies, and hoverflies, particularly as the twin pressures of fragmentation and a very dry, warm spring has reduced the amount of nectar available.“

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