‘No Mow May’ taking over some Connecticut neighborhoods

Stroll down Kenyon Street in Hartford’s West End, and the first thing you’ll notice are the dandelions.

Some yards have only one or two, others have many more. They poke up from slightly overgrown lawns, yellow accents in an otherwise pristine neighborhood.

The second thing you’ll notice are the yard signs, decorating properties up and down the street: “No Mow May. Pardon the weeds, we’re feeding the bees.”

In Hartford, as in other parts of Connecticut and in states nationwide, residents have sacrificed their lawns during the month of May to aid America’s dwindling bee population, whose slow disappearance could have dramatic consequences for the country’s food supply.

In the process, they’re showing what environmental activism can look like at a true grassroots level.

“I believe in collective action about the environment and climate change, and this seemed to me like a very easy way to do less work and to do something good for the environment,” said Mally Cox-Chapman, an author, consultant and West End resident who is coordinating the No Mow May efforts in her community. “Relax and help out in one easy step.”

Cox-Chapman first learned of No Mow May from a New York Times article, published in late March, that detailed how communities in Wisconsin and other states had made the initiative an annual practice. Inspired to action, she left flyers in the mailboxes of every home on her block and quickly gained six supporters, then posted to a West End Facebook group, where she earned dozens of likes and found a small army of neighbors itching to participate.

To help spur the movement, Cox-Chapman donated 25 locally printed yard signs for her neighbors to display. Before long, all had been claimed.

Through two weeks of May, some West End neighbors have let their lawns grow wild. Others have made compromises for the sake of their children and dogs, mowing the backyard but not the frontyard or half of their lawn but not the other. They’re conscious of city ordinances dictating how high lawns can grow but don’t anticipate that becoming a problem after only a single month.

In addition to helping bees and other pollinators and flexing the muscles of local environmental activism, No Mow May has also brought neighbors together. Wendy Graveley, an event planner who moved to Hartford just before the pandemic, had never met Cox-Chapman when she volunteered to help distribute lawn signs. Now the two are friends and partners in saving the bees.

“People are really excited,” Graveley said. “Even if it’s something small, I think right now people like to feel like they can make a difference.”

Cox-Chapman says she’s been almost surprised by the positive feedback from her neighbors, most of whom don’t have extensive backgrounds in climate activism.

“There’s a lot of helplessness and hopelessness around anything about the environment,” Cox-Chapman said. “And the wonderful thing about this little initiative is that you’re actually helping. You are doing something.”

Bees have become a cause celebre for environmentalists in recent years amid a prolonged dip in their population. According to the the Center for Biological Diversity, more than half of bee species native to North America are declining, and one in four faces an “increasing risk of extinction.”

Experts say declines in bee populations typically owe to loss of habitat and the use of pesticides, as well as effects of climate change. This poses a threat not only to natural ecosystems but also to human food supply.

“Bees and other pollinators play a vital role in pollinating the food we eat,” said Chris Phelps, state director of Environment Connecticut.

“If populations of bees and other pollinators continue to decline dramatically, our agricultural systems, our farms, would have a really difficult time continuing to produce the quantity of food we depend upon — everything from strawberries to almonds.”

Enter No Mow May, which helps bees by supplying more flowers and weeds for them to feed on. After originating in the Midwest, No Mow May has recently spread through Connecticut, with campaigns popping up in towns, including Brookfield, Norwalk and New Milford, the latter of which has taken steps toward becoming Connecticut’s first “Bee City.”

Cox-Chapman was heartened when she noticed a sign in Hartford’s Elizabeth Park designating a “low mow zone,” with an explanation of the benefits to wildlife.

In the West End, CoxChapman has big plans to spread No Mow May in future years, telling residents to hold onto their signs and promising to donate 25 more next spring. She and Graveley have discussed accepting donations for more signs so supporters can participate financially.

Cox-Chapman, who has been active for years in environmental causes, knows that letting her lawn grow one month a year isn’t enough alone to save the bees or to mitigate the broader forces threatening the natural world. As much as she has encouraged her neighbors to let their lawns grow, she also hopes to see the state legislature further restrict the use of pesticides that threaten bee populations.

But in her mind, engaging her neighbors through No Mow May cuts against the helplessness people feel around environmental causes. It’s an entry point into activism that she hopes will spur further and larger action in the future.

“That’s how social movements grow,” Cox-Chapman said. “People do the right thing and other people say, ‘I should do that too.’”

Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Mally Cox-Chapman, who has been leading the No Mow May charge in her neighborhood, in center, poses with her neighbor Wendy Graveley, at left, who has joined her in her effort in Hartford.