APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – “No Mow May” just completed its fifth year in Appleton.
“Things like bees and pollinators go a long way in providing food and important resources for us, and we want to keep them around for a long time,” Israel Del Toro said.
But there’s a chance this year could be its last.
“It was mainly driven by citizen input and just a general observation of how our city looks during the month of May,” Appleton Alderperson Chris Croatt said.
Croatt recently authored a resolution which would repeal “No Mow May” starting next year.
“HOAs or groups of folks that really dislike the idea of having a long lawn for period of time here in the early season,” Del Toro said. “It’s not unusual so I’m not terribly surprised.”
“No Mow May” became a city ordinance in 2022 based off a study from then-alderperson and ecologist, Israel Del Toro.
“I think what we’ve seen over the last few years is there’s a lot of community rallying and support and growth throughout the U.S of this initiative,” Del Toro said.
“Based on the action of other municipalities that have removed it or rescinded it or changed it since then is what drove me to bring forward the resolution for Appleton,” Croatt said.
A document from the city shows weed complaints have risen in June, July and August since the adoption of “No Mow May.”
“You can see that there is an impact clearly on the inspections department,” Croatt said. “I suppose we could debate on whether or not that’s significant impact, but it’s still an impact to their department.”
Del Toro says that doesn’t tell the full story.
“What’s more important than not mowing your lawn is this awareness, this public awareness and messaging of ‘hey what can we do to protect those little things that can’t protect themselves?'” Del Toro said.
The resolution was on the agenda for Monday’s Municipal Services Committee, but due to time constraints, it was not up for debate.
“We need to allocate the right amount of time to discussion,” Croatt said. “I was fully prepared to discuss it. Had a lot of material prepared but I’ll be prepared in two weeks.”
The debate could begin June 24th.
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