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CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO—Today, Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren announced that for May 2024, Cleveland Heights would move past "No Mow May" to celebrate "Grow More May," an effort to encourage residents to make their yards more biodiverse.
"The point of last year's "No Mow May" was never just about mowing less. It was about growing more—more plants that could feed pollinators," Mayor Seren said. "This goal got lost in the tall grass—and the debate about whether we should mow it down."
For 2024 and beyond, the City of Cleveland Heights hopes to bring the "Grow More" goal back into focus. Instead of encouraging people not to mow, the City will shift to encouraging people to replant part or all of their turf grass lawns with pollinator-friendly, preferably native plants that require less mowing and watering, like micro clover, sedges, violets, and wild strawberry.
The City plans to "Grow More" through a pilot program replacing grass with microclover in selected portions of the medians of four roads: Euclid Heights Boulevard, Monticello Boulevard, Washington Boulevard, and Fairmount Boulevard.
"We have to face facts," Mayor Seren said. "Turf grass lawns are an ecological disaster, and there are options that look better, require less mowing and maintenance, and are better for the environment."
- Turf grass is the largest crop in the United States.
- Lawns take up three times more land than any other irrigated crop and use ten times the amount of fertilizer and pesticide per acre than farms.
- In some parts of the country, watering lawns accounts for 30% of water consumption.
- Mowing contributes 5% of the country's annual air pollution and uses 800 million gallons of gas.
- You would have to drive a car 100 miles to produce the same amount of air pollution as one hour of mowing.
- On average, homeowners spend 70 hours a year mowing their lawns. So, every year, mowing your lawn produces more pollution than driving from New York to Los Angeles and back.
"We learned a lot from last year's No More May campaign," Seren said. "It all went into shaping this year's program."
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To kick off Grow More May, the Cleveland Heights Parks and Recreation Department will co-host a "Grow More, Mow Less" event with Friends of Heights Parks and the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes at 10:00 am on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at the Cleveland Heights Community Center. The event will introduce residents to the idea of converting their lawns and moving away from turf grass.
- Residents who want to participate in Grow More May will be asked to register their conversion project on the City's website.
- Registered Grow More May participants will receive an "Urban Garden Project" yard sign to let their neighbors know they are participating.
- The City will track and measure the environmental impact of Grow More May law conversions.
- The City will enforce tall grass and weed violations throughout May and beyond.
Mayor Seren plans to be the first homeowner to register a Grow More May project on the City's website and then replace his lawn with microclover.
"I see Grow More May as a good replacement for No More May," Seren added. "I invite residents to join us."
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