Last spring, City Council’s Sustainability
Committee approached City
administrators with an idea. Why not
designate some of the City’s public green
space for a pilot Grow Not Mow program?
This sustainable practice reduces how
often certain green spaces are mowed
or, when practical, eliminates mowing
altogether.
The City agreed and, last spring,
converted an area on South Park
Boulevard across from Hathaway Brown
School into a Grow Not Mow zone. This
stretch of South Park runs along the
Doan Brook, making it a perfect test
case, notes Michael Peters, the City’s
sustainability coordinator.
“Allowing this area to go back to
a natural state helps protect the Doan
Brook,” says Peters. “And the City spends
less time and money mowing, so it’s a
win-win.”
The stretch along South Park was
mowed once in the spring, then left
alone. By summer’s end, native grasses
and wildflowers were growing freely
throughout the site (see photos)s.
6 FALL 2021 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
“Not only is it lovely to look at, it
now also provides a number of important
ecological benefits,” says Peters.
This includes creating habitat for
native plants and pollinators, reducing
air and noise pollution from mowers, and
City Pilots Grow
Not Mow Program
Sustainable Practice
Saves Money
absorbing more stormwater run-off than
regularly mowed areas. That means less
stormwater run-off ends up in the Doan
Brook watershed.
“Non-compacted land is good at
absorbing water,” says Peters. “When you
run a couple hundred-pound mover over
land, it eventually gets compacted and
water just runs off to somewhere else.”
Members of the Sustainability
Committee are now working to expand the
program for 2022 by seeking out public
greenspace for future Grow Not Mow
zones. Preference is being given to sites
that are used infrequently by residents or
that are potentially hazardous to mowing
crews due to slope or standing water.
“The South Park site was often wet
and mowing equipment would get stuck in
the mud,” says Peters.
Areas under consideration include
a grassy patch at the corner of Shaker
Boulevard and Lee Road, and sections
along the Shaker Boulevard RTA tracks
east of Warrensville Center Road.
Residents are also invited to submit ideas
at shakeronline.com/grow-not-mow. SL
@ Shaker Online
/WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
/grow-not-mow