Put away the lawn mower! Bay Bulls asks residents to stop cutting weeds, to help feed the bees

A town on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula is asking its residents to hold off on mowing their lawns so that bees can have more time to feed on the weeds that grow there.

Bay Bulls launched its Pardon the Weeds, We're Feeding the Bees campaign after seeing social media posts from local gardening storePat's Plants & Gardens. The posts described how mowing your lawn early in the season can cut off a crucial food supply for local bee populations.

Coun.JoanLubysaw the posts and got town council to join the effortby sharing the same message on social media and bypostingthe slogan on its website.

According to deputy town clerk Ashley Wakeham, the town felt it was an important cause to get behind.

"The global situation with bees is really scary," she told the St. John's Morning Show."In Ontario right now they're gearing up for an almost 90 per cent loss after the winter."

Ontario has seen its population nearly decimated since the first big noticeable drop in 2011, but Newfoundland has actually been called a "rare bee haven" by the Canadian Honey Council because numbers have stayed mostly healthy here.

That group is currently investigating why bees in Newfoundland are still doing well, andhaven't been ravagedthe same way other parts of Canada and the U.S. have been.

"We're relatively unaffected," Wakeham said."Alot of that comes from the distance from the mainland and the distance from the mites and parasites affecting them there."

While it maylook a bit unsightlyto have unkempt lawns throughout town with dandelions and weeds growing tall, Wakeham said it's a small price to pay for a few weeks if it means bees can thrive in the region.

She said unlike some communities, there are no bylaws in place that require people to maintain their lawns, and even the town office is neglecting its lawn as an example for everyone else.

Just for a few weeks

Residents are also now asking other communities and groups such as Memorial University to do the same as Bay Bulls, so Newfoundland can hold on to its reputation as a bee-friendly island.

"We're not asking for the full summer or forever, we're just asking for a few weeks to give the bees a good start," Wakeham said.

"I've seen a lot of lawns that still have the dandelions still left there and we haven't had any negative comments."