We are buzzing to be backing No Mow May
13/05/2024
We are buzzing to be bringing more nature friendly zones to our neighbourhoods this month, as we support No Mow May. This is the national movement to make enormous gains for nature, communities and the climate by giving grass cutting a break.
If you are passing through our Barker Street or Eldon Street areas, you will spot the green spaces where we are relaxing grass cutting in the coming weeks.
The idea is the 20m2 patches of grass will grow into havens for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects and birds to flourish, and support our efforts to tackle climate change in our neighbourhoods.
The designated sites at Barker Street and Eldon Street will be left to grow until the end of May and grass cutting will continue as normal in other parts of the neighbourhoods.
The new nature friendly areas are in addition to others we have established elsewhere on FCHO-owned land in Oldham.
In recent years, our Neighbourhood Care team has introduced 16,000m2 of natural meadows, wildflower plots and native flower spaces across the borough. These are in response to customer feedback that sustainability is important to you, and they also help us reduce our environmental impact while delivering lots of benefits for our customers and communities.
This is the first time we have brought no-cut zones to Eldon Street and Barker Street, and we are keen to hear what local residents think of the initiative.
We are running it in partnership with the National Trust, which is also working with locals in these particular neighbourhoods to explore the benefits of bringing nature to their window box or balcony in the Sky Gardening Challenge – a pilot competition and the first time the National Trust has partnered with social housing.
David Wrigley, our Head of Neighbourhood Care, said: “Boosting the biodiversity of our green spaces is among the objectives in our sustainability strategy and part of our plan to deliver great neighbourhoods.
“Leaving patches of grass to grow for longer, as we are doing here, allows native flowers and plants to bloom, providing important sources of food and shelter for wildlife, tackling pollution and helping local people to connect with nature.
“We are delighted to be working with the National Trust to trial these new plots at Barker Street and Eldon Street and look forward to hearing residents’ views and whether they would like do see us to do similar work in the future.”