Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Now that June has arrived, biodiversity campaigners say it’s okay to mow the grass again.

During the month of May every year, environmentalists in Ireland and UK urge people not to use lawnmowers.

The idea for No Mow May is to help save bees. Wild pollinators love native Irish wildflowers such as dandelions, which provide nectar and pollen.

If people mow less often – and refrain from mowing during May – these wildflowers flourish. And this creates spaces for bees to survive and thrive.

The National Biodiversity Data Centre said the impact of not mowing during May could be huge, even if only a fraction of Irish gardens participated.

One Bradley Bytes reader was in touch recently about the University of Galway’s lack of participation in No Mow May.

They pointed out that during the height of No Mow May, the green area outside of the Quadrangle, known as College Park, was mown.

In response, the university told us this area was “mown to facilitate sports”, which was fair enough.

But a walk through the campus revealed many other green spaces that were not for sports use and that had also recently been trimmed with a lawnmower.

Lawns within the Quad were manicured. And there was evidence of lawns mowed during May at several other green areas across the campus. These included but were not limited to grass opposite the Chapel on Distillery Road; at the fire assembly point opposite Kingfisher Gym; at Áras na Gael; near the library and Arts Millennium Building; adjacent to Áras de Brún; outside the Martin Ryan Building; and outside the Lifecourse Building and Corrib Village near Dangan.

Other areas were partially mowed and partially wild, such as near Dangan car park, presumably to preserve wildflowers and to allow people to walk through.

The University’s press office pointed us to its Biodiversity Action Plan. This is a 28-page document, outlining the university’s approach to enhancing biodiversity on campus.

And while it committed to “leaving some areas unmown and reducing mowing frequency elsewhere” – as well as a whole host of other actions to improve biodiversity – it was silent on No Mow May.

The University’s city campus is a biodiverse oasis in the heart of the city . . . but it could be so much better if, like Technological University Dublin, it embraced No Mow May, instead of an unofficial policy of ‘Mow Away May’.

Pictured: No Mow May held now sway in the Quad, one of the areas at the University of Galway where lawns were manicured.