A CHARITY is working with Gwynedd Council to support communities in the management of verges and other public green spaces as meadow habitats.

The aim of this is to empower communities to take control of their public green spaces so they are better connected for nature and people.

Social Farms & Gardens is the charity supporting communities to farm, garden and grow together, and their signs, which read ‘Please don’t mow. Let us grow’, have started to appear in community areas and verges in Gwynedd.

Spring 2020 saw 56 per cent fewer dandelion flowers and 40 per cent fewer daisy flowers than previous years, with artificial grass and perfectly preened lawns added to the mix, we need to do everything we can to protect our wildlife.

Naturalist and television presenter, Iolo Williams, joined the hosts of people subscribing to the #NoMowMay revolution this year. He said: “‘No Mow May’ and ‘Let it bloom June’ certainly worked wonders for my lawn.

“With the knapweed still to flower, that’s food for pollinators from early spring to autumn.”

Abstaining from mowing your lawn from May–August can support 2.1 million - or around 60,000 hives - of honeybees.

Now is a perfect time to get involved in our Resilient Green Spaces, Greener Spaces & Corridors project to look after and improve meadow habitats in public green spaces. Working in partnership with Gwynedd Council, Social Farms & Gardens empower communities to take control of their public green spaces so they are better connected for nature and people.

Sarah Collick, north Wales development worker for Social Farms & Gardens said: “These signs are a great reminder of the great work that we are doing with different groups and organisations in Gwynedd. They also serve as a catalyst for others to join in and help protect and enhance our green spaces for wildlife to flourish.”

If you have access to a park, cemetery, large verge or other green space and would like to help wildflowers and pollinators flourish, contact: [email protected], or [email protected]. You can also visit bit.ly/3vcUhMQ for more information.