Why parts of some parks aren’t mowed
The city is moving into letting the grass grow long in parts of some parks, to support insect and bird life.
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Kate
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shawn 09:48 on 2023-06-04 Permalink
That’s great. Even on that a little strip along the middle of Saint Joseph by me, they let the grass grow high and there’s all kinds of interesting variations. I mean, I suppose some of it may be weeds, but it looks wonderful imo. And while I don’t think the article mentions it, I feel like those patches help to cool the area down a little more than short grass.
Kate 10:00 on 2023-06-04 Permalink
Well, define “weeds”. A lot of the “weeds” which will grow here are specifically the plants on which local beneficial insect species will thrive!
A good example is milkweeds, which grow wild here if you let them – you can see them all over in wild spaces through July and August after which they go to seed. They’re necessary for monarch butterflies and bees like them too. And there may be many other examples of mutualistic plant and insect species here that are not as well known.
dhomas 10:56 on 2023-06-04 Permalink
It’s too late for this year, but for next year this might be of interest. You can usually get free milkweed seed in an effort to help monarch butterflies thrive. I plant them in planter boxes so they don’t take over the rest of my garden.
Here’s where I got mine:
https://escarpment.ca/ebc-news/save-the-monarchs-plant-free-milkweed-seeds
shawn 12:08 on 2023-06-04 Permalink
BTW according to this article today in Ars Technica, the steepest drop in world bird populations are among “grassland birds, which have suffered from habitat loss and our use of pesticides.” https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/06/a-shocking-number-of-birds-are-in-trouble/
Kate 18:46 on 2023-06-04 Permalink
I’ve always been convinced it was pesticides and deforestation that have been damaging bird populations, and not the domestic cat.
Blork 18:54 on 2023-06-04 Permalink
All it will take is a few tick bites to turn that around. (Life is complicated.)
Kate 09:39 on 2023-06-05 Permalink
I don’t think people are meant to tread through the un‑mown parts of these parks.