HOMEOWNERS throughout Dumbarton and the Vale are being urged to let their grass grow this month to support a nationwide environmental campaign.

The ‘No Mow May’ initiative has been launched by conservation charity Plantlife with a message to lock up your lawnmower for 31 days and let the wild flowers bloom.

The Cardross CAN (Climate Action Network) group, Cardross Parish Church and Geilston Hall are all giving their backing to the initiative.

Heather Munro, from Cardross CAN, said: “It’s a campaign to encourage us all to care more about the biodiversity in our gardens, because our native pollinators are in sharp decline due to changes in agricultural practices over decades, and collectively our gardens can make a difference.

“It’s a fun and easy project, and hopefully we’ll have some pretty pictures to share in a few weeks’ time!”

Cardross resident Lindsey Young recently gave a Zoom presentation to members of the community about biodiversity in gardens, and challenged residents to leave the mower in the shed for at least a full month, starting last Saturday.

At the end of May, participants can choose to take part in Plantlife’s citizen science project, titled Every Flower Counts, by counting the number of flowers in a square metre of the lawn and submitting the results online to receive a calculation of the number of honey bees that their lawns have fed.

For those who are really keen and want to rewild all summer, the organisation is also promoting #LetItBloomJune and #KneeHighJuly.

Dr Trevor Dines, Plantlife botanical specialist, said: “Our results show flower and nectar production are highest when we mow just once a month and, if plants are already suffering from drought, the best thing you can do for pollinators is reduce mowing and allow remaining flowers to bloom.

“For the first time, we can show how the frequency of mowing directly affects the number of pollinators you can attract.

“Put simply, the less you mow the more bees and butterflies there will be in your garden.”

To maximise the number of flowers and nectar on lawns Plantlife recommends a ‘Mowhican’ style cut in gardens, with some areas of lawn cut once a month and others left long and uncut.

This strategy, the group says, gives ‘short-grass’ plants like daisies and white clover the chance to flower in profusion, boosting nectar production tenfold and helping the bee population.

For more gardening tips and information visit plantlife.org.uk.