Marietta Daisies Garden Club

Grow not Mow!

England's Initiative to Help the Butterfly Conservation

Why not try here in America, too!

If you can leave 20% uncut it will provide refuges that butterflies and moths can use all year-round. 

This summer, the UK is asking people across their country to make a promise to butterflies and moths.

Will you put away the lawnmower and let your grass grow long - all the way from April to September?

Why we need to act

We are in a Butterfly Emergency.  

New data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) shows that 2024 was one of the worst years on record for butterflies in the UK and, for the first time, more than half of butterfly species in the UK are now in long-term decline. Butterflies are sounding the alarm for nature and we need to take action now.

Why the long grass

Last year, we published new research showing that letting parts of your garden grow wild with long grass can increase butterfly numbers up to 93% and attract a wider range of species. 

That’s because the butterflies and moths we love, like the Red Admiral, Peacock and Humming-bird Hawk-moth, need long grass all through the year to complete their life cycles.

How to take part

It's simple: don't mow your lawn between April and September. This is the most important time of year to have long grass because it’s when most caterpillars feed and adults shelter, breed, lay eggs, and drink the nectar from flowers. 

Save a patch for nature

When you do mow the lawn, don't cut all your grass at once. If you can leave 20% uncut it will provide refuges that butterflies and moths can use all year-round. 

From our United States Butterfly Conservation

Of the 456 butterfly species tracked by NABA, there are 320 species with trends less positive than monarch butterflies. These findings are consistent with other recent analyses of large-scale insect data, documenting species decline. While we hope individuals, communities and organizations will continue to invest in monarch research, public education and habitat restoration, we encourage everyone to engage with us, their local, native plant society, or nearest NABA Chapter, to plant native for all butterfly species, which depend upon native host plants for reproduction and resilience. 

The North American Butterfly Association is a transnational wildlife conservation nonprofit working to create a world where butterflies thrive, for the benefit of nature and people.

Founded by passionate butterfliers in 1992, and run by volunteers as a labor of love through its first 30 years, the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) has proven to be the most strategic and effective organization on the continent at conserving these crucial pollinators. NABA achieves its impact through increasing butterfly habitat, protecting imperiled butterflies, monitoring butterfly populations, and running the National Butterfly Center preserve.