Why Pollinator Gardens Are Important (and Now Legal) in Charlotte

Perfectly manicured turf grass lawns have not only become the norm in America but, in many cases, the law. A vast majority of cities across the country have some form of overgrown vegetation ordinance incorporated in its municipal health and sanitation codes, and Charlotte is no exception.

The issue with these ordinances is that they leave no room for folks to practice conservation on their properties and foster intentionally maintained, environmentally beneficial plants through the cultivation of pollinator gardens.

“Traditional landscapes and conventional landscapes do not offer food, cover and places for animals like pollinators to raise their young,” says Alden Picard, vice president of community engagement with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. “Lawns are dead landscapes.”

Traditional turf grass lawns cover over 50 million acres of land in the United States, consuming nearly 3 trillion gallons of water a year, 200 million gallons of gas from mowing, and 70 million pounds of pesticides, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Ornamental plants that decorate conventional lawns are not recognized as food by pollinators, which are critical to the foundation of the food web and are responsible for pollinating our native plants and food crops, Picard said.

Without native pollinators, we lose the pollination services that sustain the food web and North Carolina’s $102 billion agricultural industry, he added.

“Pollinators are easy wildlife species to target [from] where we live because we live with pollinators, they’re everywhere,” said Picard. “We can create habitat on our small little parcels.”

Pollinator habitats are a landscape area designed to support pollinator species including bees, butterflies, moths and birds. The diverse selection of plants, mostly native to the southeastern US, provide nectar, pollen and habitat across seasons and is maintained without the use of pesticides.

Naturalistic landscapes are carefully designed and maintained areas of vegetation that reflect an ecosystem native to the southeastern US using regionally native and adapted plant species.

These habitats aid pollinators like bumblebees that, unlike our native honeybees, can pollinate through buzz pollination and are the reason we’re able to enjoy crops like tomatoes and blueberries.

In addition to providing food, pollinator habitats contribute stems for nest cavities and a place for insects to overwinter or lay their eggs, whereas traditional lawns cannot provide the habitat requirements that wildlife needs, Picard said.

In Charlotte, until recently, the Overgrown Vegetation section of the city’s Health and Sanitation Ordinance made it unlawful for property owners to allow their grass, weeds or other vegetation to grow higher than 12 inches for risk of being cited and fined $150 by the city.

Picard said the city would provide two warnings to infringing property owners before sending contracted landscapers to cut back all vegetation.

The language in the section did not allow for pollinator habitats or naturalistic landscapes in accordance with the code, so Picard and other pollinator protectors addressed the Charlotte City Council repeatedly over a span of months to urge council members to exempt pollinator habitats and naturalistic landscapes from the ordinance.

Council voted unanimously on Feb. 9 to approve the ordinance change and include definitions of pollinator habitats and naturalistic landscapes in the new language.

“Now folks are empowered and even encouraged to landscape like this and practice conservation on their properties,” Picard said.

Though this ordinance change will not supersede any homeowners association rules in place, Picard is hopeful that the city is leading by example and HOAs will eventually empower their residents to follow suit.

Read more: Pollinator Garden Advocates Get Ordinance Changed

While North Carolina has a plethora of natural parks, nature reserves and wildlife refuges, 85% of all land is owned privately.

“If we don’t start doing conservation where we live on our private lands, we’re going to keep losing wildlife,” Picard said. “You don’t have to have 50 acres … [to] sustain and help restore populations of insects on smaller lots and then when we do it collectively, it has a huge impact.”

Should a property owner wish to take advantage of these habitat exemptions, they must register with the city by submitting photos of their habitats, allowing the city’s Code Enforcement inspectors to distinguish intentional habitats from neglected, nuisance vegetation, the city’s website said.

Visit the city’s Pollinator Habitat website to learn more or to register your own pollinator garden.

“The goal is not for people to let their lawns grow unmowed,” Picard said. “That’s really not the best wildlife practice. The best wildlife practice is to reduce your areas that are lawn and replace [them] with native plants. That’s what this is all about; reducing your turf grass and replacing those areas with pollinator habitats or naturalistic landscapes, or both.”

Known as the Butterfly Highway, the NCWF’s flagship program is an initiative to restore pollinator habitat on lands that are impacted by agriculture or development.

The program encourages folks to create pollinator gardens using a mix of native seeds called the Butterfly Highway seed packet. All proceeds go into pollinator conservation across the state, Picard said.

Read more: How to Start a Garden in Charlotte on a Tight Budget

NCWF’s local chapter, the Charlotte Wildlife Stewards, will hold a webinar with city staff on June 24 to discuss what led to the ordinance change, the importance of pollinators and local wildlife, and FAQs to raise awareness about the new registration process and habitat exemptions.

”We’ve destroyed so much habitat through development, but we can restore that habitat in our yards, in our city parks, in our neighborhoods, in our places of worship,” Picard said.

”We could bring back some of these critical elements of the food web,” he continued. “The most important things for this to happen is codifying it, making it law, legally giving people the option to do this and not penalizing them.”

On Saturday, June 20, the city will celebrate the opening of the Tuckaseegee Arboretum and Gardens, a new public space designed to connect residents with trees, pollinators and sustainable landscaping. A free community event is scheduled for 9 a.m.-noon, including a formal ceremony at 10:30 a.m. featuring remarks from elected officials and the presentation of a proclamation recognizing Pollinator Week.