The kindest cut of all is not to cut at all

WHEN it comes to long grass the mower the merrier.

That’s the message from wildlife campaigners who are urging gardeners to let their lawns flower this summer to help save bees and other endangered insects.

They say long grass and flowers provide essential habitats and food sources and want people to keep their mowers in the shed.

Greg Wilkinson, chairman of the Berkshire Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England said: “Gardens are important wildlife havens and if we let our lawns grow in the coming weeks we will be doing nature a big favour. Allowing dandelions and daisies to bring a splash of colour to our lawns is also the easiest and most practical way to enable more bees and butterflies to survive.”

CPRE also wants local councils and landowners in Berkshire to join in this campaign for nature by leaving parks and other green spaces such as roadside verges to grow wild. The countryside charity is supporting the “No Mow May” campaign for rewilding by PlantLife and the Wildlife Trust.

To find out more about how you can encourage the recovery of Britain’s depleted nature, and to support CPRE’s campaign work for our local countryside, please go to the charity’s website www.cpreberkshire. org.uk and follow CPRE Berkshire on Twitter and Facebook.