No Mow May campaign pays off after 10 years as rare Wild Bee Orchids return in abundance

AFTER 10 years of campaigning, Warrington Nature Conservation Chair Geoff Settle is delighted to report the success of No Mow May, which has resulted in rare Wild Bee Orchids flourishing at Birchwood.

A delighted Geoff said: “After 10 years of pleading with the council to end/reduce grass cutting during May, called by Plant Life NO MOW MAY, the mowing crew haven’t cut the grass along the Birchwood Expressway.
“Guess what, the beautiful wild Bee Orchids are back in numbers.

“On Friday 29th May, I went for a run to the site, and I was delighted to discover in the tall grass 97 spikes. They are difficult to spot at first, but once you get your eye in, you will see tens of them.”

“The Warrington Nature Conservation Forum would like to extend a BIG thanks to Kevin McCready’s mowing team for doing nothing here during the month of NO MOW MAY. They say it involves a culture change and counterintuitive, don’t cut the grass.”
Geoff added: “The teams took some convincing but I hope if they visit the site and see the orchids, they will understand why we are so passionate. It’s not just Orchids that have emerged, but many other species of wildflowers that can’t be seen from the high vantage point of a mower.
“It was a fantastic feeling to see them back after ten years of being mowed down. Whatever magic appears has happened again; the right natural environment has been created.
“It has also been great to see the limited mowing that has taken place on roundabouts and road sides. If the culture towards nature conservation can be changed where else can change be effective?”