At first glance, Cheryl Frank's lawn looks like any suburban yard. A stretch of grass is bordered by shrubs and some flowering plants that are still waking up.
But once she starts pointing out what grows there, it's more diverse than you might think.
"I have arugula growing in my front yard, and it's because the birds and squirrels put seeds there," she said.
In back are random patches of wild onions, which look like silky ornamental grass. Clover and dandelions and various kinds of native groundcover also dot the lawn.
"It's just interesting to see what grows," said Frank, who is the president of Color Brighton Green, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In the interest of natural plant growth, she's asking homeowners to make a pledge to not mow their lawns for the month of May.
"No Mow May" is a conservation movement that began in the United Kingdom and appears to be gaining traction among environmentalists in North America.
A 2016 study published in the journal Environmental Management found over 40 million acres of land in the continental U.S. have some form of grass on it.
“Even if we all turned part of that into natural habitat for wildlife," Frank said, "think of the carbon emissions that would save and think of the animals that would be saved.”
Most cities and towns have ordinances limiting how high grass and weeds can grow, usually 10 to 12 inches. It would probably take longer than a month for them to get that high.
Nevertheless, Frank said she emailed Brighton Supervisor Bill Moehle to ask that the town's ordinances be suspended for the month of May. (People don't have to be residents of Brighton to make the pledge, of course.)
While many homeowners take pride in their weed-free, manicured lawns, Frank hopes they can be persuaded to rethink this.
In addition to frequent mowing and watering, she said the use of chemical pesticides kills the rich diversity of life growing in the grass.
“Would you like to live in an all-white neighborhood or a neighborhood that has all kinds of different people in it?" Frank asked. "Same for your lawn. Do you want all one kind of grass or do you want different things in your lawn?”
If an entire month of no mowing is a bridge too far for some, Frank urges people to not worry. She said she may not even make it that long herself.
“My electric mower doesn’t have a lot of high settings, so I’m gonna have to mow when I realize that I’ll get stuck," she explained. "So I might cheat and start May 20 or something. We’ll just have to see how much it rains.”
Or homeowners can dedicate just a part of their lawn to the project. Frank suggested leaving a mown border around a section of yard that will be allowed to grow freely.
"(Or) maybe putting up a sign that says 'pollinator habitat' so that the neighbors know that it's intentional and that you're not just being lazy," she added. "I could also just do the backyard so no one could see it."
Even if her neighbors notice, Frank said she isn't too worried what they'll say.
"They already know I'm a bit of a tree-hugger, so they'll figure it out," she said.
