No Mow May

We’re once again taking part in PlantLife’s campaign ‘No Mow May’ to support biodiversity in Westminster. 

Throughout spring, some of our parks, greenspaces and our housing estates will not be mowed throughout April, May and June providing a space for nature to thrive.

A healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife. The wildflowers provide a vital food source for bees and butterflies. With their numbers in decline, they need all the help they can get.

Join us by locking up your lawnmowers and let the wildflowers in your lawn bloom.

Why are we doing this

Since the 1930s the UK has lost more than 97 per cent of its wildflower meadows which are vital for food pollinators like butterflies and bees.

By not mowing grass on our housing estates and a selection of parks during May, the council will allow plant life to grow during this crucial period to feed pollinators throughout the summer months.

Westminster Green spaces

Despite Westminster’s location at the heart of London, the city boasts diverse wildlife and a wealth of open spaces. Around 25 per cent of Westminster is made up of parks and green spaces and the city has 33 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs). There are over 600 different kinds of flora and fauna recorded in Westminster.

St John’s Wood Church Gardens even has a formal designation as a Local Nature Reserve under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949.

A balance between recreation and nature

We recognise that our parks serve as gardens, football pitches and picnic spots, for the people who visit and live near them. We are being careful to leave space for people to enjoy our parks, by creating a balance between park users needs and doing what we can to create more space for wildlife, biodiversity and nature to bloom.

The parks and greenspaces taking part in ‘No Mow May’ this year include:

No Mow May South Sites

• Ministry of Defence: all the sections along the wall
• St Georges Square: bottom area next to the dog section
• Berkeley Square: sections of the square
• Victoria Tower Gardens: south section opposite Security Services (MI5)
• Upper Grosvenor Gardens: lawn area around statue in the middle
• Cavendish Square: one panel opposite Q Park
• Hyde Park Corner: the bank at the end of Piccadilly

No Mow May North Sites

• Westbourne Green Open Space: the lawn along the section of Harrow Road
• Paddington Green: two main lawns
• St Johns Wood Gardens: picnic lawn, edges under all trees and around the main lawn 
• Sussex Gardens: lawn opposite the wildflower meadows and lawn on the East side
• Queens Park: sections of the Mound, Rose garden, area by the gym equipment and by the round bed at the end
• Edbrooke Gardens: roadside strips of long grass and by the shrub beds and hedges
• Tamplin News: bank by the playground, strip on the south side, by the Thames Water hut and a hedge by the North side

Please note we will stop cutting the grass in these areas two weeks before the end of April.

Notices will also be put up explaining No Mow May.

Paddington Recreation Ground will also be participating in No Mow May but only for the month of May

All our housing estates are participating this year.

If you have a garden or community greenspace and would like to also participate in No Mow May, visit the Plantlife website.