For the last 3 years, the University has taken part in No Mow May on central campus. This means central lawns that would normally be cut were left to grow throughout May.
We are pleased to be taking part again this year for 2026. We have updated some of our practices based on feedback. You can read about these below.
Our main objectives for this project remain as follows:
- bring landscape management for biodiversity to the centre of campus to raise the level of consciousness about biodiversity issues
- seek a boost in vegetation and invertebrate diversity on central campus in line with the national No Mow May findings
- test the assumption that we would face a lot of resistance to a project like this where we would be changing how central campus looked and the expectation for it to look neat and tidy
We already leave large areas of our grasslands throughout Spring and Summer as hay and wildflower meadows.
No Mow May goes beyond this in asking people to leave traditionally mown lawns throughout May to boost the available food for pollinators and other invertebrates in this specific time. These lawns are amenity lawns that are usually mown fortnightly throughout this period.
If you would like to provide feedback on the project, please email the sustainability team.
Which lawns are included?
We have upped the number of lawns in this years No Mow May, with additional lawns near Darwin, around Eliot College and Keynes Pond being part of the project. The maps below show which lawns are included for 2026.
We try to avoid spaces which are high traffic for events, marquees etc. We have also taken feedback from previous years and have decided to mow around the edge of the lawns adjacent to paths to give the project an intentional look, rather than the lawns looking abandoned. We will also try and make sure that our signs remain in position to provide explanation.
We balance the number of lawns selected with the maintenance capacity of the Landscape and Grounds Team to manage the lawns come June.
Let it bloom June!
New for 2026! The lawns marked with a pink boarder will be left to grow through June. We are trialling this approach to see how it looks, what flowering species exist in the seedbank, how the lawns cope with a dry/wet summer, and whether we see an impact on the seed bank of weeds in the area.
The weather will obviously have an effect on growth but we hope that you enjoy the changes to central campus over the course of May. For many it is an exciting time to see the campus transform to a lush green space that feels quite different. If you do get a chance, please do fill out a feedback form.
“Excellent to be part of a University that is looking out for nature. Requires joined up thinking between the sustainability team and estates team. Well done University of Kent.” - Quote from 2023 feedback.
Managing clover mounds
Over the years we have discovered that we have a number of healthy patches of clover. Whilst these looked really lush, they grow quite tall and shade out everything below. This leaves some really bald patches on the lawn once mown later in the summer. We want to try and avoid this so you may see the Landscape and Ground's team selectively strimming these patches to allow other species to get some sun.