Low Mow May

With an improvement in the weather, more people are taking breaks from their desks and labs to walk around Milton Park. If you are taking the opportunity to wander around the Park, you may have noticed the large areas of luscious grass and wildflower areas.

That’s because once again we’re participating in wild plant conservation charity PlantLife’s annual campaign. Inspired the No Mow May campaign, the ground maintenance team has increased the number of green areas across the Park to be low mow all year-round. When done properly, allowing plants to naturally grow and flower not only looks great, but is also carbon-saving and promotes thriving ecosystems. These areas will cut at most four times a year with the wildflower areas only once or twice a year.

According to Plantlife, we’ve lost nearly 97% of flower rich meadows since the 1970s and a quarter of the UK’s plant species are at risk of extinction due to the loss of wildflower habitats.

No Mow May gives wildflowers space and time to grow and bloom undisturbed, letting nature take its course – providing vital food and shelter for pollinators crucial to our ecosystem, whilst creating beautiful areas for people to enjoy.

This campaign has gained significant support in the UK, with over a quarter of a million people pledging to take part in the initiative this year. So, even growing out the smallest grassy patches contributes towards a significant positive impact on the environment – by taking part in the campaign, we can all play a role in protecting our planet’s precious biodiversity.

At Milton Park, we’re letting our green space grow alongside the cycle path between buildings 127 & 130. This is in addition to the 2,900 sq m of dedicated wildflower meadow areas that we maintain across the site year-round, supporting Milton Park’s 70,000 honeybees from six hives located at the Park.

Get involved

If you’d like to join in with the campaign, there is some great information on the official website: https://www.plantlife.org.uk/