Bee protection is a big issue these days in America, with people planting native pollinator(传粉者) gardens, setting up bee houses, and taking part in scientific activities to monitor local bee populations. And this is for good reason—in North America, a quarter of native bee species are at risk of extinction. Bees pollinate 35 percent of our global food supply and many of the wild plants our ecosystems depend on.
No Mow May, a movement that began in the UK, is now rapidly spreading throughout the US. Its popularity lies in its being simple: Just give bees a help during the crucial spring-time by removing a chore from your list and letting your lawn(草坪) grow for the month of May. This lets "lawn flowers" such as dandelions(蒲公英) grow at a time when bee foods rare.
Dandelions, despite being pretty and useful, are non-native. Then why do we promote a movement that encourages their growth? Here's the basic answer-don't let "perfect" be the enemy of "good". Sure, it'd be great to turn your entire neighborhood into a bee kingdom of native plants, but that can take lots of time and money.
While dandelions have become the poster child for No Mow May, other plants—including native species—may also appear in your lawn. "Besides dandelions, there are many other plants that are going to be there," says Dr. Claudio Gratton at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In Massachusetts, scientists found 63 species of plants in lawns, 30 percent of which were native to the state. Most of the Americans probably loved dandelions as children but have tended to hate them as adults because of American lawn culture, which allows no flowers. "No Mow May forces us to think about our relationship with nature. We should reflect on the way we have made nature suit our needs, and realize flowers play really important roles," says Dr. Claudio Cratton.
