PHOTO: Stephanie Haworth stopped mowing her berm for environmental reasons. Source: 1 NEWS
An uncut grass verge is causing problems in Dunedin after one resident stopped cutting her berm, letting it grow wild.
“I am unusual for this very straight line, upper middle class, white, heterosexual street,” resident Stephanie Haworth said.
Haworth put her mower away two years ago for environmental reasons.
“I don’t really like mowing the lawns – it’s noise pollution, it’s burning fossil fuels,” she explained.
Now, she’s reaping the rewards of her “no mow” stance, with bees returning to her property.
Auckland University ecologist Associate Professor Bruce Burns applauded Haworth’s unpopular position, saying an unmown lawn helps create biodiversity.
“I applaud her for trying something different with her verges,” Burns said.
“I think it’s almost like the 11th commandment ‘thou shalt mow your lawns,’ but there are a number of costs with moving lawns – both environmental and financial.”
The move hasn’t gone down well with her disgruntled neighbours, who took matters into their own hands.
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